FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 17, 2025
Contact:
Rocky Moretti (202) 262-0714
Carolyn Bonifas Kelly (703) 801-9212
Click here for the full report, infographics and news conference recording.
NEW TRIP REPORT EMPHASIZES NEED FOR INCREASED INVESTMENTS IN NEW MEXICO ROADS & IDENTIFIES MORE THAN $5.6 BILLION IN NEEDED TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS STATEWIDE
Albuquerque, NM – A lack of sufficient transportation funding will make it difficult to adequately maintain and improve New Mexico’s existing transportation system. Increased investment in transportation improvements could relieve traffic congestion, improve road, bridge and transit conditions, boost safety, and support long-term economic growth in New Mexico, according to a new report released today by TRIP, a Washington, DC based national transportation research nonprofit.
New Mexico roads and bridges that are deteriorated, congested, or lack some desirable safety features cost the state’s motorists a total of $3.6 billion annually – as much as $3,002 per driver in some urban areas – due to higher vehicle operating costs as a result of driving on rough roads, congestion-related delays and the financial costs of traffic crashes. The report, entitled “New Mexico Transportation by the Numbers: Meeting the state’s need for safe, smooth and efficient mobility,” includes regional pavement and bridge conditions, highway safety data, and cost breakdowns for the Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Santa Fe urban areas and statewide. A breakdown of the costs per motorist in the state’s largest urban areas, along with a statewide total, is below.
The TRIP report finds 33 percent of major locally and state-maintained roads in New Mexico are in poor condition and another 24 percent are in mediocre condition, costing the average motorist an additional $1,075 each year in extra vehicle operating costs (VOC), including accelerated vehicle depreciation, additional repair costs, and increased fuel consumption and tire wear. Twelve percent of major roads in New Mexico are in fair condition and the remaining 31 percent are in good condition.
“One of my biggest priorities for this upcoming session is making much needed improvements to our state’s roads and highways,” said New Mexico State Senator George Munoz. “The safety of our roads is critical and speed is of the essence. Our roads are the first building block to a better economy and enhancing the quality of life for New Mexico families. There are too many pot holes across our state, and it’s time to fix them while we have the money to do so.”
Statewide, New Mexico drivers lose $1.2 billion annually as a result of lost time and wasted fuel due to traffic congestion. Traffic congestion in the Albuquerque urban area results in the average driver losing 46 hours annually in traffic delays and wasting 19 gallons of fuel, costing the average Albuquerque driver $1,249 annually in lost time and wasted fuel. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, vehicle travel in New Mexico dropped by as much as 41 percent in April 2020 (as compared to vehicle travel during the same month the previous year). By 2024, vehicle miles of travel in New Mexico had rebounded to one-percent higher than pre-pandemic levels (2019).
Five percent (182 of 4,035) of New Mexico’s bridges are rated in poor/structurally deficient condition, meaning there is significant deterioration of the bridge deck, supports or other major components. Most bridges are designed to last 50 years before major overhaul or replacement, although many newer bridges are being designed to last 75 years or longer. In New Mexico, 46 percent of the state’s bridges were built in 1969 or earlier. While the state has made significant improvements in bridge conditions since 2002 as a result of increased funding for bridge repair, preservation and maintenance, the condition of bridges is projected to decline over the next decade under current funding projections. The share of National Highway System (NHS) bridges in the state with deck area in poor condition is projected to increase from 3.3 percent in 2002 to six percent in 2031, while the share of deck area in good condition is projected to decline from 34.5 percent to 26.7 percent.
From 2019 to 2023, 2,174 people were killed in traffic crashes in New Mexico. In 2023, New Mexico had 1.46 traffic fatalities for every 100 million miles traveled, the 12th highest rate in the nation and significantly higher than the national average of 1.26. Traffic crashes imposed a total of $2.5 billion in economic costs in New Mexico in 2022 and traffic crashes in which a lack of adequate roadway safety features, while not the primary factor, were likely a contributing factor, imposed $829 million in economic costs on the state’s residents. Those costs include work and household productivity losses, property damage, medical costs, rehabilitation costs, legal and court costs, congestion costs, and emergency services.
Needed improvement and reconstruction projects statewide have been identified by the New Mexico Department of Transportation. While more than $5.6 billion is needed for these projects, they remain unfunded. A list of projects statewide is included in the report.
Increasing inflation has hampered New Mexico’s ability to complete needed projects and improvements, as the available funding now covers significantly less work. The Federal Highway Administration’s national highway construction cost index, which measures labor and materials cost, increased by 46 percent from the beginning of 2022 through the first quarter of 2024.
In addition to state transportation funding, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), signed into law in November 2021, will provide $2.5 billion in federal funds to the state for highway and bridge investments in New Mexico over five years, representing a 29 percent increase in annual federal funding for roads and bridges in the state over the previous federal surface transportation program. Federal funds currently support at least 80 percent of the revenue used by NMDOT to fund highway and bridge improvements.
In 2022 New Mexico’s freight system moved 234 million tons of freight, valued at $143 billion. From 2022 to 2050, freight moved annually in New Mexico by trucks is expected to increase 52 percent by weight and 71 percent by value (inflation-adjusted dollars). The TRIP report also found that 21 percent of travel on New Mexico’s Interstate highways and 22 percent of travel on its rural Interstate highways is by combination trucks. This anticipated growth in freight transport in New Mexico, and the rest of the U.S., is a result of further economic growth, changing business and retail models, increasing international trade, and rapidly changing consumer expectations that place an emphasis on faster deliveries, often of smaller packages or payloads.
“Without adequate funding, New Mexico’s transportation system will become increasingly deteriorated and congested, hampering economic growth, safety and quality of life,” said Dave Kearby, TRIP’s executive director. “Increasing inflation in highway construction costs has already taken a significant bite out of the state’s existing transportation funds, and additional transportation investment will be required to complete needed projects across the state.”