Press Release from William (Bill) Sauble on behalf of Colfax County Commission
The TIGER Grant was submitted Friday evening, June 5, 2015 by Seneca to the United States Department of Transportation. Notification of successful grant applications will occur no earlier than September 2015 and possibly as late as December 2015.
Amtrak committed to a $4 million match, BNSF to $2 million. The three-state area of Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico pledged matching funds of $3,233,000, making the total match amount committed to be $9,233,000. The grant would be for $15,210,143, making the total amount available for the three states to be $24,443,143.
New Mexico Department of Transportation pledged $1 million, provided that it be used on the portion of the line that New Mexico owns from Lamy, west to the point that the Railrunner turns north into Santa Fe. Amtrak has pledged $1 million of their $4 million to this portion of the line.
Matching amounts committed from New Mexico are:
New Mexico Department of Transportation $1,000,000
Colfax County $12,500
Raton $12,500
Cimarron $1,000
Maxwell $1,000
Springer $1,000
Mora County $5,000
San Miguel County $12,500
Las Vegas $12,500
Santa Fe County $12,500
Bernalillo County $12,500
TOTAL $1,083,000
Total matching funds from Colorado were $1,100,000 and from Kansas were $1,050,000.
At this point, replacing ties on the portion of the line west of Lamy has been identified as the priority for the New Mexico portion, although repairs on other sections of the line are still under consideration. The Lamy section of the line has reduced speeds being enforced at this time, and further reductions in speed are being considered. This makes it a high priority.
