Bill would help get ball rolling on rail line

By James W. Brosnan - Scripps Howard News Service

July 29, 2005

WASHINGTON - The highway bill House and Senate leaders hope to send to President Bush today authorizes a commuter rail line from Belen to Santa Fe and earmarks $20 million to reconstruct the Paseo del Norte/I-25 interchange.

House leaders had scheduled a vote on the highway bill Thursday night, but it was delayed until today in a squabble over a provision.

The $286.5 billion authorizes federal highway and transit aid through 2009. The measure has been held up almost two years in a dispute between Congress and Bush over the cost.

The $20 million for the Paseo del Norte/I-25 Interchange will allow for planning and design work on the project.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a Silver City Democrat, said the project "is a high priority for Albuquerque, and I'm very glad to have secured this funding to make necessary improvements there."

Authorization of the commuter rail line does not guarantee its construction, but it does make the project eligible for federal aid. Rep. Heather Wilson, an Albuquerque Republican, said the bill authorizes $500,000 for a study of the Albuquerque to Santa Fe route.

"New Mexico will need to draw on federal resources for a project of this size," Wilson said in a statement. "Federal funding can be a lengthy process and there are many competing priorities in Washington, so this is an important starting point."

Bingaman said the state plans to use $30 million of its highway aid money to operate the Belen to Bernalillo "Rail Runner," the first phase of the project.

Wilson said the bill also earmarks $24 million for three other Albuquerque-area projects: $15.6 million for the Coors/I-40 interchange, $5.6 million for the Mesa del Sol interchange, and $2.8 million for I-25/Tramway interchange.