Rail Runner Swallowing Millions of Road Funds

Capitol Report New Mexico - A member of the state Transportation Commission called the balloon payments that taxpayers are facing in funding the Rail Runner as a “hand grenade” that the Department of Transportation is trying to defuse.
Pete Rahn and DOT secretary Alvin Dominguez appeared before the Transportation and Public Works Committee on Monday (Jan. 16) and expressed their concerns about how the department can grapple with keeping the state’s roads in decent shape with diminishing public and federal dollars while the Rail Runner’s costs add an extra layer of complications.

“The major problem is the 100 percent [of] state road fund dollars going to pay for the capital investment, the $420 million in capital investment that was made into the Rail Runner,” Dominguez told Capitol Report New Mexico after the hearing. “It drains dollars that should be going into our roadways.” Then there are the two estimated $235 million balloon payments that must be paid between 2024-2026. “It’s a huge obstacle,” Rahn told lawmakers, adding the balloon payments represent “a hand grenade set in our modeling.” Read full story here: News New Mexico

Rail Runner Swallowing Millions of Road Funds