NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The metro-area's big plan prioritizing which major road projects should come next is facing an overhaul. That's because the planners behind it say New Mexico has changed a lot since the pandemic.   Story continues below Weather: Where is it snowing in New Mexico? Crime: Former New Mexico track coach who sexted with student sentenced to probation Don't Miss: New Mexico Racing Commission investigating All American Futurity race Five years ago, the Mid-Region Council of Governments' Metro Transportation Plan (MRCOG) outlined a list of big projects across Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance, and Valencia counties. However today, the latest 20 year outlook shows the prior goals may have to change after the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped New Mexico. "One, you know remote work, and it's more than just work, I think people are taking meetings, they're doing more shopping, more business from home, classes from their desktops, so less travel in general," said Kendra Montanari, Transportation Planning & Technical Services Manager for MRCOG.  Road project costs have also skyrocketed between 20%-30% more since 2020.  "NMDOT sits on all of our committees and we make sure that all of their priorities are also included in the plan. The plan when it is approved will have a final project list and any NMDOT projects that are receiving federal funding will have to be in that list," said Montanari.  Another factor? Overall population growth in metro-area has slowed down, even though the region saw about three thousand new homes a year for the last decade. While MRCOG is still evaluating which projects should be prioritized, the talk has already brought up strong opinions from locals.   "27 million dollars going to the Rail Trail does not benefit Los Lunas, the West side, Rio Rancho. It is a small group and it is a waste of money...We have so many more traffic needs that are needed out there that need to be addressed before we're looking at something called the Rail Trail," said a local named Jerry.  The MRCOG said they will have a second draft released to the public in February. The final plan will be ready in April and will include the updated list of priority projects. The MRCOG is currently accepting public feedback for this first draft until Friday.