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Doña Ana County updates commissioners on $40M rail grade separation, elections center and other capital projects
Summary
County staff briefed commissioners at a March 4 work session on the status and near-term timelines for several major capital projects, including the Santa Teresa rail grade-separation, a new elections building, an OEM facility, airport runway work and site rehabilitations.
Doña Ana County staff on March 4 presented a condensed status report on major capital projects underway across the county, including construction schedules, funding sources and next steps.
The update, delivered primarily by Assistant County Manager Jonathan Macias, covered a set of projects the county manager asked staff to present in brief. The most advanced projects include a new elections facility awarded to ESA Construction with an estimated contract value the county described as "3.5" (project documents presented by staff listed the award and a projected September completion) and a sheriff/operations OEM facility planned as a specialized, roughly 17,500‑square‑foot building with a total budget staff cited at about $13.7 million and an anticipated start in March 2025.
Staff also reported on smaller and mid‑sized efforts: the Betty McKnight food pantry will be built as an addition to an existing community center with construction documents expected to be complete next week and a mid‑April bid close; modular buildings are being staged to accelerate staffing and rehabilitation of the Fair Acres site, with a nine‑person on‑site staffing model and three shifts planned; and airport work at the county jetport is close to completion, with runway and taxiway striping due to finish later in the month and a planned ribbon cutting to coordinate with state officials.
The Santa Teresa grade separation — described as a nearly $40 million project by staff — is moving forward after federal and railroad coordination. Staff said Federal Railroad Administration coordination and Union Pacific requirements delayed right‑of‑way work but that the county’s real estate acquisition management plan had been approved and right‑of‑way acquisition will begin, managed by Wilson & Company. Macias said ACM Lopez and county roads and engineering will oversee implementation.
Macias also updated the commission on a county radio transition to the 700‑megahertz public safety system. Fire and rescue have completed their migration and staff said the program now includes plans to bring animal control, code enforcement and roads onto shared channels; the county is also working with vendors on radio programming and contingency measures such as cellular backup for tower outages.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions but made no formal decisions. Macias thanked facilities and other staff for day‑to‑day work on the projects and said the county will return with procurement actions and award items as contracts proceed.
Ending: Staff asked commissioners to hold detailed questions until project‑specific presentations, and several departments were listed as follow‑ups for procurement, ribbon‑cutting coordination and right‑of‑way acquisition.
