Sandoval County is a part of the first phase of the I-40 TradePort Corridor project — a public-private initiative establishing an interconnected, multi-state network of clean energy industrial logistics centers. This development is aimed at creating thousands of jobs, strengthening the national supply chain and advancing clean energy shipping along the Interstate 40 corridor.
The regional development partnership, uniting Sandoval County with Bernalillo County and the Village of Los Lunas, focuses on establishing New Mexico’s role in a network of logistics and industrial hubs stretching from Los Angeles to Albuquerque.
“It’s a logistics play for us here in New Mexico and what they’re doing is creating these clean energy hubs for the trade corridor that would move freight from the Port of Los Angeles all the way to Albuquerque and beyond,” said Wayne Johnson, Sandoval County manager.
TradePort hubs are planned along the 805-mile I-40 corridor in Albuquerque, Kingman and Winslow, Arizona — integrating ocean, road, rail, and air cargo to create a streamlined logistics system connecting Asia with the Southwest. The project will feature hydrogen and electric vehicle fueling stations, as well as large-scale warehousing facilities for goods moving along I-40, enhancing regional supply chains and supporting clean energy goals.
A key driver behind the focus on clean energy is California’s mandate for all trucks to transition away from gasoline by 2035. The hubs will provide fueling and charging stations for electric, hydrogen and alternative-fuel vehicles. The corridor will accommodate electric and hydrogen-powered trucks, as well as autonomous vehicles, serving as a testing ground for new technologies and providing manufacturers with valuable real-world data.
In preparation for the project, the three New Mexico entities invested $124,500 to apply for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Regional Infrastructure Accelerator program. In October, the USDOT Build America Bureau awarded the coalition the RIA designation, along with $974,000 in startup funding for project planning, studies and preliminary engineering.
The RIA designation helped the coalition secure a $15 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant from USDOT. Bernalillo County will oversee the funding as the regional hub administrator.
Sandoval County’s objectives
The I-40 TradePort Corridor promises significant economic benefits for Sandoval County, particularly by creating jobs on the west side of the Rio Grande and diversifying the local economy. Sandoval officials also hope to address long-standing traffic challenges on the Westside of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.
“The fact of the matter is, we need a north-south connector to connect [U.S. Route] 550, to I-40,” Johnson said. “We need that, if for no other reason than to be able to have people work on the Westside and be able to move better on the Westside. I mean, from a traffic standpoint, moving north and south on the Westside of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho is very difficult.”
According to Johnson, the Paseo del Volcan expansion project will ease traffic congestion and provide space for business development. The NMDOT is also interested in connecting Paseo del Volcan to Atrisco Vista Boulevard.
The planned Albuquerque TradePort hub will be located at the intersection of Atrisco Vista Boulevard and I-40, near Double Eagle Airport, a key area already home to major companies like Amazon, FedEx and Tempur-Pedic. The strategic location will leverage air and road infrastructure, with plans to connect Atrisco Vista Boulevard to Paseo del Volcan, providing a direct route from I-40 to Highway 550 and I-25.
“We’re not going to get new river crossings,’ Johnson said. “What makes sense is creating economic-based jobs on the west side of the river. Sixty-eight percent of Rio Rancho residents who are working, leave and go to Albuquerque every day. This is the beginning of the way we reverse that, how we bring some of those jobs to the west side.”
Other county goals include strengthening the national supply chain and fostering sustainable economic growth in the metro area.
Johnson emphasized the importance of cross-state partnerships, especially in the metro area, where local government collaboration can be challenging.
“A win for Bernalillo County and Albuquerque is a win for Sandoval County and Rio Rancho,” he said. “It just absolutely is and we need to support that type of growth and try not to be upset about ‘they won, so we lost.’ No, they won. We all win. That’s the attitude that we’ve got to have going forward.”
Sandoval County’s Focus on Manufacturing
Dora Dominguez, director of Sandoval County Economic Development and Tourism, said the county hopes to complement the TradePort’s logistics hub by developing a manufacturing hub.
According to Dominguez, New Mexico could become a more affordable manufacturing alternative to California, where costs are rising.
According to Johnson, the need for a manufacturing hub in New Mexico to help fill empty containers on their return to ports, reducing costly empty trips and potentially lowering shipping expenses. Currently, large volumes of goods are imported, but most containers return empty, adding an estimated $4 million in fuel costs per ship crossing the Pacific. Establishing local manufacturing could turn these empty trips into export opportunities, reducing wasteful shipping costs and creating jobs.
The Albuquerque TradePort hub is estimated to cost $38 million and is currently undergoing planning and environmental assessments. The entire TradePort Corridor project is expected to take at least 10 years to complete, with initial infrastructure and facilities projected to be operational within four to five years.