I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Struggling with a shortage of cash, New Mexico is seriously considering closing nearly half of the state’s highway rest stops.
“Isn’t it shocking?” Rep. Patricia Lundstrom, D-Gallup, vice-chairman of the House Transportation & Public Works Committee, said Monday of the idea. “When I think what that means for quality of life and tourism I am very concerned.”
The New Mexico Department of Transportation has targeted 14 of the state’s 32 rest stops — 13 full-time and one seasonal — for possible closure with the decision coming soon, agency spokesman Mark Slimp told the Independent on Tuesday.
Ten of the targeted rest stops are along stretches of Interstates 10, 25 and 40 while the remaining four are on U.S. highways 64, 70 and 180, according to a list provided by the transportation agency.
“This is being carefully thought out,” Slimp said. He said two of the factors being weighed by agency staff are the volume of use at each targeted rest stop and how close each is to commercial facilities.
Eight of the targeted rest stops are at four sites, meaning they sit on opposite sides of an Interstate and count as two rest stops despite being right across from one another, Slimp said.
“None of this cast is stone, but a good portion probably will be shut down,” Slimp added.
Shuttering rest stops won’t be popular judging from Lundstrom’s reaction. In addition to creating inconvenience for motorists — several rest areas have bathroom facilities — the lawmaker said, closing rest areas can affect public safety. Truck drivers and motorists often use rest areas when they get too tired to drive.
But Lundstrom acknowledged the financial troubles buffeting the state transportation agency. “You can only do so much with what we have,” Lundstrom said.
Closing rest areas, or rest stops as they’re also known, is only the latest potential cost-savings measure the state’s transportation agency has considered as it struggles with anemic revenues that can’t keep up with expenses.
The state’s transportation agency is funded through two major sources, and one of them — the state road fund — has taken a severe financial hit of late. The state road fund is fed by state taxes on gasoline and special fuels – diesel — and a state 3 percent tax charged when a vehicle is purchased.
As a result, the state transportation agency has reduced its budget this year by tens of millions of dollars after revenues have come lower than expected in recent years.
The current estimate is that state road fund revenues from those sources have come $50 million to $60 million lower than expected, leaving a sizable budget hole for the transportation agency, Slimp said. The estimated savings from closing all 14 rest stops would be $1.6 million, Slimp added.
Despite the transportation agency’s troubles New Mexico lawmakers rejected measures during this year’s legislative session that could have added much-needed dollars to the state road fund. One defeated bill would have increased the state tax on purchased vehicles from 3 percent to 4 percent.
Approximately $17 million of the increased tax revenues would have gone to the state road fund, which has a significant budget gap.
The balance of the tax revenues collected — $17 million — would have gone to the general fund, the state’s main account that also is suffering from significant financial troubles.
Lundstrom first learned of the transportation agency’s plans to study closing the rest stops prior to this year’s legislative session, the lawmaker said.
And the idea still appears alive, appearing last week in the Legislative Finance Committee’s Post-Session Overview as a possibility. The transportation agency also is considering chip sealing roads less often and not purchasing necessary heavy equipment to help save money, the overview said.
Other states also have shuttered rest stops, including Arizona, which shut 13 of its 18 rest stops last fall.
As the New York Times wrote last month, Arizonans were furious about the rest stop closures:
The people of Arizona kept their upper lips stiff when officials mortgaged off the state’s executive office tower and a “Daily Show” crew rolled into town to chronicle the transaction in mocking tones. They remained calm as lawmakers pondered privatizing death row.
But then the state took away their toilets, and residents began to revolt.
Here’s a list of the targeted rest stops provided by the New Mexico Department of Transportation:
Butterfield Trail, U.S. 180
Fort Seldon, I-25, north and south.
Scenic View on I-10
Blackwater Draw on U.S. 70
Pajarito/Newkirk on I-40, east and west
Thaxton on I-25, north and south.
Sierra Grande U.S. 64
Rattelsnake on I-40, east and west
Acomita on I-40
Rio Grande Gorge on U.S. 64 only open in the spring, summer and fall.
