ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The long-awaited Rio Bravo bridge rebuild in the South Valley is now forcing the city to revamp acres of open space set to be built over. The nearly ten-acre open space area falls right under the Rio Bravo bridge that the New Mexico Department of Transportatoin said is in dire need of repairs. […]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The long-awaited Rio Bravo bridge rebuild in the South Valley is now forcing the city to revamp acres of open space set to be built over. The nearly ten-acre open space area falls right under the Rio Bravo bridge that the New Mexico Department of Transportatoin said is in dire need of repairs. With that bridge repair, NMDOT said they’ll have to reformat how the open space is used.
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More than 20 years old, the Rio Bravo bridge needs a total replacement. Spanning between Second Street and Isleta, it’s one of NMDOT’s next major construction projects, but in order to do it, the state will have to revamp the next-door open space. The Rio Bravo Riverside Picnic Area, Fishing Pier, and Nature Trail was built back in 2001 but a new bridge is set to go right through the middle of it.
“This project will add travel lanes and shift the bridge northward by approximately half its width into the area managed by the Open Space Division of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department,” said Silvia Bolivar, Senior Planner.
Alongside the bridge expansion, NMDOT is planning to change the current open space parking lot, making it bigger. They’ll also link the new bridge to the open space by adding sidewalk ramps to the bridge.
“The plan includes four ADA accessible spaces, 30 additional spaces, and improved pedestrian and bicycle connectivity through new access control features and trail reconstructions,” said Bolivar.
People KRQE News 13 spoke to said they agree the bridge needs to be updated but hope the open space isn’t altered too much. “The bridge absolutely needs to be done. We would utilize the bridge on foot a lot more often if it was safe and right now it just doesn’t feel safe, not even on a bike it just doesn’t feel safe,” said Dacia Weist.
“It wobbles a little bit when we’re driving on it and we tried actually walking under it the other day and we were a little bit nervous about it,” said Allie Stone.
NMDOT said they’re also planning to relocating the benches, signage, and replacing any shrubs or trees that get destroyed in the process. The plans passed a city commission Thursday afternoon with no opposition. NMDOT is also planning to help protect the trees near the project through a pre-construction meeting with the contractor and the city’s Open Space Division which manages the area.