Martinez cuts ribbon for new road, announces water projects
By: Las Cruces Sun-News
Date: 04/07/2014
LAS CRUCES >> With the $400 million Union Pacific rail facility operational, the state has prepared an artery for some of the traffic.
Strauss Road in Santa Teresa is a six-mile highway built entirely of concrete to accommodate trucks. Gov. Susana Martinez was on hand Monday to help cut the ribbon for the road.
“It is an important piece of infrastructure that will connect the Pete Domenici Highway to the new Union Pacific Intermodal yards,” said Jerry Pacheco, executive director of the International Business Accelerator. “Trucks carrying cargo going to or coming from Mexico to the intermodal park will be using this road.”
Martinez is expected to join state and local officials today to announce a total of $4.25 million in state funding for Las Cruces water infrastructure projects, including funding to re-drill three Las Cruces wells, install a contaminant monitoring system, and to expand the Las Cruces sewer system.
Also, more than $5 million will be on its way to southern Doña Ana County for water infrastructure projects.
Last month, Martinez signed capital outlay legislation that includes $89 million for critical water infrastructure projects throughout the state. Of that, $5.45 million has been earmarked for a pair of Camino Real Regional Utility Authority projects for the Santa Teresa and Sunland Park areas.
Camino Real provides water service for the City of Sunland Park and most of the unincorporated areas in and around the Santa Teresa County Club and the Santa Teresa Port of Entry.
The state reports that $3.7 million will be given to help plan, design, construct and improve the wastewater treatment plant on McNutt Road in Sunland Park.
In addition, $1.75 million has been set aside by the state for work on water wells in the southern part of the county.
“Our mantra has been, ‘In order for our development momentum to continue, we need to keep infrastructure ahead of development.'” Pacheco said. “For the past three years, we have focused on lobbying for monies for our regional water/wastewater system, in order to accommodate not only the industrial but the residential growth that we are experiencing.
“The new monies are critical in updating our wells that will allow us to service the new development,” he said.