NMDOT districts 5 and 4 outline projects, budgets and equipment shortfalls

Rhonda Lopez, district 5 representative for the New Mexico Department of Transportation, told the House Transportation Committee that District 5 oversees San Juan, Rio Arriba, Taos, Santa Fe, Torrance and Los Alamos counties and maintains roughly 5,375 lane miles of roadway.

Lopez said District 5’s FY26 operating budget was about $29.8 million, with ongoing construction contracts totaling roughly $248.9 million and contract maintenance and field supply budgets just over $6 million each. She listed recent special appropriations and projects funded by prior House bills and identified active construction items including a New Mexico 334 underpass in Torrance County and an emergency repair at the Guanajueta Bridge (an emergency procurement she said will begin on the 16th and is budgeted at $1,800,000). Lopez said the district had a roughly 19.5% vacancy rate across its positions and described an equipment priority list totaling about $10.9 million.

Committee members asked for details about local guardrail work and whether municipal or tribal matches were secured. David Quintana, NMDOT chief engineer, said agreements either commit the 5% match or document eligibility for waivers and offered to provide a list of entities that had received waivers.

Later in the hearing, Cruz Sudosta, assistant district engineer for District 4, described District 4’s geographic scope — seven counties and 20 municipalities — and summarized FY25–FY29 spending plans. He reported District 4’s FY26 payroll/benefits and operating budgets, described recent completions (including Tucumcari Boulevard and interstate mill-and-inlay work) and listed upcoming fiscally constrained projects totaling tens of millions of dollars across the district. Sudosta said District 4’s equipment replacement request was about $10,075,002.64 and that average equipment age is roughly 20 years, which contributes to elevated repair costs.

Both presenters noted seasonal pauses for temperature‑sensitive work and said some projects remain in winter suspension. Members pressed DOT staff on how projects are prioritized, on the local‑government 5% match process, and on how funding shortfalls affect maintenance allocations. Lopez and Sudosta said the department uses established programming lists and the transportation improvement program to prioritize projects and that legislators may sponsor targeted projects when necessary.

The committee did not take any formal action related to DOT presentations; both district briefings were followed by question-and-answer periods and the committee moved on to bill hearings.