The New Mexico Department of Transportation told lawmakers that major wildfire and post‑fire flood impacts forced crews to prioritize emergency repairs, sidelining pavement preservation and chip‑seal programs and stressing the state road fund.

John Romero, highway operations division director at NMDOT, said crews typically perform many repairs in house because it is faster and cheaper, but repair work “does necessitate us to reallocate our resources in both equipment, personnel, and material,” which reduces routine maintenance capacity.

Romero said crews spent roughly $1.5 million on in‑house repairs in one canyon area and smaller sums on other fires; across the Hermits Peak‑Calf Canyon response he said NMDOT’s total outlay for road, flood and debris response in the region has reached about $122,000,000. The department reported it has received about $36,000,000 in FEMA reimbursements to date and used governor’s executive orders and state appropriations to continue work while seeking full federal reimbursement.

NMDOT staff described a range of damaged infrastructure — bridges, drainage structures, walls, guardrail and signage — and said many emergency fixes are temporary. For some major bridge replacements the Federal Highway Administration’s emergency relief (ER) funds are available for projects with individual structure costs typically in the $2–$3 million range; Romero said one Roswell–Artesia bridge replacement is estimated at about $3 million and may be a candidate for ER funding.

Committee members asked about material and equipment staging. Romero and other speakers said NMDOT keeps dispersed materials and equipment across districts but the volume of concurrent events statewide stretches capacity; state purchases come from the state road fund unless other appropriations or reimbursements are authorized.

The department also highlighted coordination with National Guard and local emergency operations during events, as well as the training benefits of emergency fieldwork for newer employees. Romero said flooding at burn scars tends to cause elevated repair needs for about three years before flows stabilize in many areas.