Sunland Park council approves MOA with NMDOT to advance Border Highway Connector

The Sunland Park City Council voted to approve a draft memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the New Mexico Department of Transportation that lays out parcel conveyances necessary for construction of the Border Highway Connector.

Mark Sazar, introduced by city staff as the project development engineer with NMDOT, told the council the MOA has two parts: parcels the department needs to hold during construction and parcels that NMDOT will convey back to the city after project completion. He walked through maps showing the corridor and the parcels required for roadway and drainage improvements, noting the project reaches the connection to New Mexico 273 and ties into NM 136 near the Santa Teresa Port of Entry.

Consultants from Bohannon Houston and city staff answered questions about legal descriptions, deed development and timing; the presentation noted that the parcels to be conveyed by the city must be cleared before project letting in November. An online question raised whether the project would improve access to the port of entry; consultants explained the connector ties into NM 136 but does not include improvements to NM 136 itself and that a roundabout shown on the project map could link to a potential future port-of-entry site.

After discussion the council moved, seconded and approved the MOA by roll call. The motion carried unanimously.