New Mexico Department Of Transportation

New Mexico Department of Transportation, Transit and Rail Division is a U.S. local government entity and a child division of the State of New Mexico, operating as a prime recipient of federal grants across highway, transit, and safety programs with no federal contracts or contract vehicles in its portfolio. The division administers formula grants and project grants exclusively, with over $15.5 billion in cumulative obligated funding since 1999 and no private-sector subcontracting activity.

The division's federal footprint is concentrated in transportation infrastructure and safety programs delivered statewide across New Mexico's twenty-three counties and tribal lands. The Federal Highway Administration dominates the award landscape, accounting for 8,294 of 8,670 total awards through formula grants under the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (CFDA 20.287), Highway Planning and Construction program (CFDA 20.205), Highway Safety Improvement Program (CFDA 20.272), State Planning and Research program (CFDA 20.258), and modal-specific programs including the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (CFDA 20.277), Railway-Highway Crossings Program (CFDA 20.285), and Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation program (CFDA 20.284). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration places 181 awards for behavioral highway safety programs under Section 402 and Section 405 (Occupant Protection, Impaired Driving Countermeasures, Distracted Driving, and Motorcyclist Safety) and the Minimum Penalties for Repeat Offenders program (CFDA 20.608). The Federal Transit Administration awards 165 grants for rural and metropolitan transit operating and capital assistance under the Formula Grants for Rural Areas and Tribal Transit Program (CFDA 20.509), Buses and Bus Facilities Formula Grant Program (CFDA 20.526), and Metropolitan Transportation Planning and State and Non-Metropolitan Planning and Research program (CFDA 20.505). The Federal Aviation Administration Southwestern Region provides nine airport improvement and system planning awards under CFDA 20.106.

Recent representative work spans concrete infrastructure delivery and planning. Highway awards fund pavement rehabilitation, mill and inlay operations, bridge replacement and deck overlays, roadside barrier and guardrail installation, and drainage improvements across Interstate 25, Interstate 40, US 54, US 64, US 70, US 180, US 285, and state routes throughout New Mexico—with individual awards ranging from $100 thousand to $170 million. The $170 million Border Highway Connector construction award (September 2025, FHWA Highway Planning and Construction) funds directional four-lane highway construction spanning 8.3 miles with Union Pacific Railroad bridge crossing and multiuse pathway development. The $108 million US 64 Phase IV roadway improvements award (March 2026, FHWA Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program, CFDA 20.938) supports reconstruction, widening, drainage, and retaining wall work. Safety and multimodal awards include $43.1 million for Unser Boulevard Phase IIB widening with pedestrian and bicycle facilities, $7.1 million for Nicklaus Channel reconstruction with three-barrel concrete box culvert replacement, and multiple Safe Routes to School and pedestrian trail projects. Transit awards fund rural transit operating and program administration ($27 million, Federal Transit Administration Section 5311, obligated March 2026), park ride facility construction at Jim West Regional Transit Center ($1.762 million, FTA Formula Grants for Rural Areas, August 2026), and South Central Regional Transit District battery-electric bus procurement ($5.6 million, FTA Federal Transit Formula Grants, September 2025). Planning and research awards support statewide transportation planning, traffic monitoring, value engineering, bridge inspection updates, and ITS and asset management system development.

Activity has declined year over year—584 awards in 2022 to 115 in 2026 through August—reflecting the division's grant cycle cadence and completion of major phases of infrastructure investment. Three hundred awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and will recompete. The division competes exclusively under full-and-open federal grant programs; it does not hold seats on contract vehicles, GWACs, or BPAs. Subcontracting is minimal—twelve sub-award entries in the source represent pass-through funding to regional transit agencies, planning organizations, and local authorities undertaking transportation projects within their jurisdictions under Section 5311 rural transit and metropolitan planning programs, not traditional prime-to-sub teaming. The division's role is administrative—it receives formula and project grants from FHWA, NHTSA, FTA, and FAA, obligates funds to eligible projects selected through statewide transportation planning processes, and serves as pass-through entity for awards to sub-recipients. No parent contract vehicles, IDIQs, or GSA Schedules are present; the division operates as a mandatory state administrative agency under Title 23 USC and 49 USC for federal transportation funding across all modes.