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City to accept tribal-administered federal highway funds to design Passmore and Vineyard bridges
Summary
The council approved an intergovernmental agreement with a Pueblo to accept Federal Highway Administration funds administered through the tribe for initial design (plans, specifications, estimates) of Passmore and Vineyard bridges; design work will proceed with environmental clearances and coordination with irrigation districts.
The Socorro City Council on May 15 approved an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with a Pueblo to receive Federal Highway Administration funding for initial planning, specifications and estimates for two bridge projects — the Passmore Bridge and the Vineyard Bridge — and authorized the city manager to execute the agreement.
City staff explained the arrangement allows the tribe, which can apply for certain federal funds the municipality cannot, to administer the federal funding and pass reimbursements for the design phase to Socorro. Staff said the bridges are used daily by tribal public safety vehicles and city residents, and that accepting the funding for design work avoids using city operational funds for the initial phase.
Council asked about schedules and process. Staff said the design funding would be available promptly but that the projects must still go through environmental clearance; the design and clearance process will take roughly two to two-and-a-half years, with additional time for construction once funding and clearances are complete. Staff also noted challenges at Passmore related to right-of-way and irrigation district coordination and said those issues will be part of design discussions.
Council approved the IGA and authorized the city manager or her designee to execute the agreement so that design work can commence under the tribe’s federal funding mechanism. The action was described as a reimbursement arrangement: the tribe administers and disburses federal dollars for design services and Socorro implements and oversees the engineering work.
