A bill that includes $25 million to fund a paved road to Spaceport America was approved by the House this afternoon.
On a vote of 62-5, the House approved GRIP II, a bill that provides $250 million for road and other transportation projects around the state. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.
This is one of four proposals the Legislature failed to pass last year that Gov. Bill Richardson has demanded this session.
Currently, the Upham exit off Interstate 25 in Doña Ana County leads to a dirt road that runs north into Sierra County and to the site of the spaceport. The money would fund a major, paved road from the exit to the launch site.
During the first launch from the spaceport last fall, heavy rains damaged the dirt road to the point that it wasn’t passable and couldn’t be repaired before the launch, and the hundreds who attended had to be diverted north to Truth or Consequences and on to even more remote dirt roads to reach the launch site.
The paved road is sorely needed, if the spaceport is to become a reality.