Road funding; Grants and Cibola governments to see millions

CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – On August 27 the New Mexico Department of Transportation released the list of communities who will see funding from the Local Government Transportation Project Fund. The Cibola County and City of Grants governments will be seeing over a million dollars each, the Village of Milan did not receive any funding, other recipients included McKinley County, the City of Gallup and the Navajo Nation.

In all, NMDOT District 6, which Cibola falls under, will receive $27.7 million. Because of regulations intended on ensuring the safety and endurance of new infrastructure, some projects which are being funded through this award may not see substantial development or movement for a handful of years.

Cibola County

Beginning the first stages of a rehabilitation project on County Road 1 in Seboyeta, N.M., the $1,187,500 allotment from the LGTPF will allow the county to begin clearing the impacted area of the road closest to the bridge which provides access to the Red Mesa Wind Energy Center, the Cibola Solar Energy Center, NM Game and Fish administrative regions, along with farms and ranches. This road provides access to the Marquez Community and is also referred to as “Marquez Road” according to documentation provided by Cibola County.

County Road 1 is of economic importance to the county, known as a “Farm and Ranch to Market Roadway,” it provides access for farmers and ranchers to sell their market goods, as well as providing access from very rural areas of the state to more urban areas.

For this reason, once the transfer of money is completed, the project will begin with right-of-way studies, planning for future stages of the project, and for alleviating watershed issues.

City of Grants

The City of Grants will receive a total of $2,616,596.40 for two projects. For the long awaited Sakelares Boulevard project, the city will receive $546,250. “This is just starter money,” City of Grants Projects Coordinator Donald Jaramillo cautioned.

With this allotment, the Sakelares Blvd. project can begin; the City of Grants has not been viewing the road as a priority due to a series of other on-going projects at the time, according to Jaramillo. With a renewed focus on the road, a long-term project is expected out of Sakelares which may involve obtaining multiple funding sources. The focus on this road will be economic development, as the city expects it to be important in long-term development, providing for commercial and residential growth.

The city also received $2,070,346.40 for a redo of the 500 block on Washington Avenue. This project will serve multiple purposes, firstly it will help to stop flooding in the area, as the existing infrastructure has no drainage, but the new project will. Secondly, the project is coming in anticipation for the new Mesa View Elementary which is in design, this project will help alleviate the traffic congestion in that part of Grants. The project will include a walking trail which will tie into the city’s walking trail system, and lastly the project will include new sidewalks in the area. The design phase of this project has already been paid for and the city is looking forward to a Summer 2022 construction phase, according to Jaramillo.