New Mexico DOT improves safety on highways and rail crossings
April 29, 2026
In this article, we describe our work with the New Mexico Department of Transportation, selected as ENR’s Southwest Owner of the Year
An unprecedented boom in the oil and gas industry has fueled New Mexico’s economy—and the New Mexico Department of Transportation’s (NMDOT) budget. The infusion has propelled major projects and programs not only for highways, but now for rail. With a reorganization and additional funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, NMDOT is embarking on its own construction boom.
“In the past, we’d been tied to resources that were available from federal aid,” says David Quintana, acting secretary for NMDOT. “Those formula dollars were our ceiling. Often project scopes had to be adjusted to fit the available budget.”
When oil and gas revenue started soaring in the state in 2019, it added US$1.3 billion for the agency on top of the federal program. Then came the IIJA.
The agency received $2.5 billion for highways and bridges, $366 million for public transit, around $38 million for electric vehicle charging, and $90 million for airports.
“The public’s safety is at the forefront of NMDOT’s decision-making,” says Gabby Contreras-Apodaca, principal for transportation at Stantec.
