NM received $30M in stimulus funds for public transit

Posted at: 02/08/2010 8:28 PM | Updated at: 02/08/2010 8:34 PM
By: Taryn Bianchin, KOB.com

New Mexico transportation has received a $300 million boost since stimulus cash started flowing last year. A lot of that money is being used to repair and upgrade roadways but a good portion is also helping people get around when times are tight.

In Santa Fe on Monday for a transportation conference, US Dept. of Transportation Administrator Peter Rogoff says the federal transit administration's budget jumped 80 percent with the Obama stimulus package.

"There's been a lot of transit service that hasn't had to be cut back, at a time when people need transit service to look for work, to get to the hospital, to deal with having to get rid of an unaffordable car. It's really been a very positive impact on the economy," Rogoff stated.

"We got a total of $8.4 billion and we've already put $7.9 billion of that to work," Rogoff said. That money is credited to have saved thousands of jobs across the country, putting people to work on new projects and easing the burden for many Americans.

Of the $300 million in federal stimulus funds earmarked for New Mexico’s transportation, $30 million was set aside specifically for public transit.

"It has bought a lot of new vehicles to replace older busses that need to be replaced, it has built some maintenance facilities and it is also building some Rail Runner services and stations that otherwise wouldn't have been built," Rogoff said.

For a breakdown of how stimulus money is being used here in New Mexico, check out the national recovery website.

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