Members of the New Mexico Congressional delegation serving the area around the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) have lined up $10 million for upkeep of the haul road leading to the nation’s only disposal site for defense-related transuranic waste.
The federal money will help shore up the U.S. 285 Relief Route, a key roadway used by trucks moving waste from DOE sites to WIPP near Carlsbad, N.M., according to a Friday Sept. 29 press release.
The announcement was made by Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.)
“WIPP serves a critical role for nuclear waste storage in our state and for our nation,” said Vasquez in the release. “This funding is much needed to ensure the safety and improvement of transportation of volatile materials to the facility.”
Route 285 is a north-south highway running from Sanderson, Texas to Denver, Colo. Use of the road for WIPP shipments was briefly suspended two years ago due to flooding near Roswell, N.M.
“For more than 25 years, trucks bound for WIPP have been rolling down New Mexico highways,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said in an Oct. 3 Facebook post. “As of this week, the Department of Energy is helping with the upkeep: A $10 million grant to rehabilitate the U.S. 285 Relief Route.”
“Well-maintained roads are a safety measure for every driver using US 285,” Lujan Grisham said. “Thank you to DOE and our congressional delegation for getting this done, It’s a solid down payment and New Mexico will keep asking for the rest.”
The grant is not the only effort perking in Congress to try and increase funding for road infrastructure around WIPP in Southeast New Mexico. The WIPP Economic Assistance Assurance Act of 2026 (S. 4252) would provide inflation-adjusted infrastructure funds beyond what was offered in the original WIPP Land Withdrawal Act of 1992.