N.M. Delegation: Infrastructure Law Is Delivering In New Mexico, Tribal Communities

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) highlighted how the Infrastructure Law is delivering for New Mexico.

To date, $2.4 billion in Infrastructure Law funding has been announced and is headed to New Mexico with over 200 specific projects identified for funding. Since New Mexico Congressional Democrats passed the Infrastructure Law, New Mexico is receiving approximately $1.2 billion for transportation to invest in roads, bridges, public transit, ports and airports and over $441 million for clean water. And, as of today, more than 147,000 households across the state are receiving affordable high-speed internet due to the Infrastructure Law.

“The Infrastructure Law is delivering results for New Mexico, and we are just scratching the surface,” said Heinrich. “I will continue fighting to make sure that every community – especially rural and Tribal – has the resources and know-how needed to navigate these historic investments so that we can take full advantage of this historic law. It’s time for our state to deploy. It’s time to implement. And like President Biden said in his State of the Union address, it’s time to finish the job.”

“With so many communities in New Mexico who depend on our roads and bridges, I’m proud we secured over $1 billion in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for renovations to ensure safer travel all across our state,” said Luján. “Critically, I’m also proud that the infrastructure legislation has already connected more than 147,000 New Mexican households to high-speed internet and also delivers a significant investment to improve our water systems, ensuring New Mexicans have access to clean water to drink and use.”

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a win for communities and our gente across New Mexico,” said Leger Fernández. “These funds improve our roads and bridges, increase internet access, provide access to clean drinking water for New Mexicans, and make us more climate resilient. This is what progress and possibilities look like.”

“I’m proud that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is investing in the critical infrastructure that is creating jobs in communities across New Mexico,” said Stansbury. “This once-in-a-generation investment in our clean water, broadband, roads, and other building blocks of our economy is key to lifting up all of our communities—particularly our rural and Tribal communities. I will continue working with our delegation and Governor Lujan Grisham to ensure New Mexico has the tools we need to turn these dollars into shovels in the ground so that, as our president said this week, we are investing in places and people that have felt forgotten for too long.”

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the largest investment in clean drinking water in American history, and over $441 million has been announced to New Mexico. I will make sure every dollar that is authorized gets to these families, so they have clean drinking water for now and for future generations,” said Vasquez. “I’m proud to see New Mexico receiving $1.2 billion funding for roads, bridges, public transit, ports and airports.”

Many more projects will be added in the coming months, as funding opportunities become grant awards and as formula funds become specific projects. By reaching communities all across New Mexico – including rural communities and historically underserved populations – the law makes critical investments that will improve lives for New Mexicans and position the state for success.

A breakdown of progress of the Infrastructure Law in New Mexico can be found below.

Roads and Bridges: In New Mexico, there are 207 bridges and over 3,822 miles of highway in poor condition. The Infrastructure Law will rebuild our roads and includes the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system. Based on formula funding alone, New Mexico is expected to receive approximately $2.8 billion over five years in federal funding for highways and bridges.

• Announced funding to date: To date, $1.1 billion has been announced in New Mexico for roads, bridges, roadway safety, and major projects. This includes:
  • $982.7 million in highway formula funding and $90 million in dedicated formula funding for bridges in 2022 and 2023.
  • $12.6 million through the RAISE program and $45 million through the INFRA program in 2022 and 2023.

Internet: High-speed internet is necessary for Americans to do their jobs, participate in school, access health care, and stay connected. Yet nearly 33% of New Mexicans do not have an internet subscription. The Infrastructure Law invests $65 billion to provide affordable, high-speed internet to every American. New Mexico will receive a minimum allocation of at least $100 million to help ensure high-speed internet coverage across the state. Additionally, experts estimate that as many as 397,000 households in New Mexico are eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which cuts internet bills by up to $30 per month, or $75 for households on Tribal lands, and provides a onetime $100 discount off a connected device.

• Progress to date: To date, New Mexico has received $5 million through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD) to help provide access to high-speed internet across the state. In addition, about 147,000 households in New Mexico are enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program, with more signing up every day. Households can check their eligibility, sign up, and find fully covered internet plans at GetInternet.gov.

Water: The Infrastructure Law represents the largest investment in clean drinking water in American history, including the first-ever dedicated federal funding to replace lead service lines and address dangerous PFAS chemicals.

• Announced funding to date: To date, roughly $441 million has been announced to New Mexico to provide clean and safe water across the state and improve water infrastructure. This includes:
  • $63 million available in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 to provide clean and safe water across the state through the Environmental Protection Agency. Of this funding, $28.4 million is dedicated to lead pipe and service line replacement, with another $18 million for safe drinking water investments that can also support lead pipe replacement in fiscal year 2022 and 2023.

Public Transit: The Infrastructure Law makes the largest investment in public transit in U.S. history. Based on formula funding alone, New Mexico would expect to receive approximately $379 million over five years under the Infrastructure Law to improve public transit across the state.

• Announced funding to date: To date, New Mexico has been allocated $73.5 million to improve public transportation options across the state in fiscal year 2022 and 2023.

Clean Buses: The Infrastructure invests over $10 billion for clean public transit and school buses. This includes a $5 billion investment over the next five years to replace existing school buses with zero-emission and low-emission models. Use of clean school buses promotes cleaner air, reduced health risks, especially for children, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. This year alone, funding from the Infrastructure Law will help double the number of clean public transit buses on America’s roads.

• Announced funding to date: To date, New Mexico has been awarded $4.6 million for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program. In addition, communities in New Mexico were awarded $8.2 million for clean transit buses and improved bus service through DOT’s Low- and No- Emission Bus and Bus and Bus Facilities Program.

Electric Vehicle Charging: The Infrastructure Law invests $7.5 billion to build the first-ever national network of electric vehicle chargers in the United States and is a critical element of President Biden’s plan to address the climate crisis and support domestic manufacturing jobs. Through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program alone, New Mexico should expect to receive roughly $38 million in formula funding over five years to support the expansion of electric vehicle charging in the state.

• Announced funding to date: New Mexico has been allocated $13.9 million in 2022 and 2023 to build out a network of EV chargers across the state.

Clean Energy & Power: Power outages cost the U.S. economy more than $70 billion annually. The Infrastructure Law makes a historic investment to upgrade our power infrastructure by making the grid more resilient and building thousands of miles of new transmission lines to deliver clean, affordable electricity. The law also makes a historic investment in clean energy technologies like advanced nuclear, clean hydrogen, carbon capture, and batteries, as well as a historic $3.5 billion investment in weatherization to improve energy efficiency of homes and lower energy costs for impacted households by an average of $372 per year.

• Announced funding to date: To date, approximately $40.3 million has been allocated to New Mexico for clean energy, energy efficiency, and power in 2022 and 2023. This includes:
  • $22.1 million for weatherization;
  • $4.4 million through the State Energy Program;
  • $4 million through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program;
  • $9.6 million to prevent outages and make the power grid more resilient. Additional grid funding will be made available in the coming months.

Airports: According to some rankings, no U.S. airports rank in the top 25 of airports worldwide. The Infrastructure Law invests $25 billion in airports to replace and modernize airport infrastructure, which helps the US become more economically competitive globally, creates good jobs, and revitalizes and supports more efficient and enhanced traveler experience.

• Announced funding to date: To date, New Mexico has received approximately $25 million in 2022 and 2023 for airports.

Ports and Waterways: Like airports, our ports and waterways are in need of repair and investment. The Infrastructure Law invests $17 billion in port infrastructure to strengthen our supply chains, address maintenance backlogs, and reduce congestion and emissions near ports– ultimately helping our country move goods more quickly and at lower cost.

• Announced funding to date: To date, New Mexico has received roughly $1.1 million in 2022 and 2023 for ports and waterways.

Resilience: Millions of Americans feel the effects of climate change and extreme weather every day. More frequent hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves, floods, unprecedented power outages, and persistent droughts devastate our communities and threaten our infrastructure. In the last decade, New Mexico has experienced 15 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $2 billion in damages. The Infrastructure Law makes a historic investment to bolster our resilience against pressing challenges like impacts of climate change, extreme weather events, and other hazards like cyberattacks.

• Announced funding to date: To date, approximately $252 million has been allocated to New Mexico for infrastructure resilience in 2022 and 2023 including $18.7 million through the Army Corps of Engineers for flood mitigation.

Legacy Pollution Cleanup: Across the country, thousands of former industrial, chemical, and energy sites emit harmful pollutants into surrounding communities. These sites pose harms to health, welfare, and economic prosperity — and disproportionately impact communities of color: 26% of Black Americans and 29% of Hispanic Americans live within 3 miles of a Superfund site, a higher percentage than for Americans overall. The Infrastructure Law will deliver the largest investment in tackling legacy pollution in American history by cleaning up Superfund and brownfield sites, reclaiming abandoned mines, and capping orphaned oil and gas wells.

• Announced funding to date: To date, approximately $46.1 million has been allocated to New Mexico in 2022 and 2023 for capping orphaned oil and gas wells and reclaiming abandoned mine lands and $3.9 million has been allocated to cleaning up Superfund and brownfield sites.

For more information, click here to see a map of funding and announced projects in your community through the Infrastructure Law.

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