MPO staff presents Metropolitan Transportation Plan 2050 update; public comment period closes

Mesilla Valley MPO staff presented the draft Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) 2050 during the May 14 meeting and reminded the board that the public comment period closes that day. Staff said the document updates Mobility 2045 and carries forward many prior elements while adjusting project priorities and technical maps to reflect recent studies and cost changes.

Dominic Loya described the MPO planning area and said one notable technical outcome was a rail feasibility study for the Las Cruces Industrial and Innovation Park that concluded rail access was not feasible due to insufficient public and private demand. Loya also said inflation and volatility in construction costs required revised maintenance and cost projections and that population and travel projections were updated after staff discovered and corrected an earlier error.

Loya listed near-term and longer-term projects in the draft MTP, including the Engler interchange work on I‑25, the University Avenue multimodal project, a Dripping Springs Road project (county), a US‑70 median concrete wall barrier and lighting project, a Thorpe Road bridge replacement, an Arrowhead interchange study, a US‑70 corridor study and a future I‑10 rehabilitation project. He said the functional classification map was updated in places (for example, portions of Griggs Road were downgraded from minor arterial to collector or local roadway) and that the transit priority map was split into Roadrunner Transit (city-focused) and South Central Regional Transit District (regional) views. Staff said the MPO will seek final board approval of the MTP in June ahead of the new fiscal year.

Why it matters: The MTP sets regional priorities for transportation investments over a multi‑decade horizon and guides TIP programming; changes to project priorities and functional classifications affect planning, funding and design work across the MPO region.