Re: [nmlci] I-40 Bike Bridge Funded

[Khalil Spencer <khalil at losalamos dot com>]

Fantastic! 

Congrats, BikeABQ and Albuqueque government.

One of the really cool things about Calgary was their dedication to
excellent dedicated facilities, including the artistically beautiful
non-motorized bridges connecting bicycle-ped facilities on either side of
the Bow River. Shows a level of committment.

At 11:37 AM 3/27/2009, Black Tie Bicyclist wrote:

 
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/27114100228newsmetro03-27-09.htm
 

Friday, March 27, 2009

I-40 Bike Bridge Funded

By Jeff Proctor

Journal Staff Writer

       Bicycle enthusiasts have been pushing for a safe way to get across the Rio Grande south of the Montaño Bridge for more than a decade.

    "We were afraid it was never going to happen," said Craig Degenhardt, president of BikeABQ, a local nonprofit cycling advocacy group that works for a bike-friendly city.

    Degenhardt's fears have now evaporated in a cloud of federal stimulus money, which will pay for the long-awaited I-40 Trail and Rio Grande Crossing.

    The 10-foot wide multiuse bridge will link an already well-established system of trails on either side of the river. It will cross the Rio Grande just north of and alongside Interstate 40, east of Coors Boulevard.

    Mark Motsko, spokesman for the city of Albuquerque's Municipal Development Department, said the design plans for the bridge are nearly complete.

    "We're looking at shovels in the ground and dirt in the air ... by early summer," he said, adding that the bridge should be finished by spring 2010.

    It's a shovel-ready project, Motsko said, that will cost $7.5 million. Federal stimulus money first allocated to the state, then to the Mid-Region Council of Governments, which approved it for the bridge project, will cover $5.4 million of that. Another $1.3 million in additional federal funding and an $800,000 match from the city will pay for the rest.

    Degenhardt said cyclists like the design for the bridge for a few reasons:

    n The aesthetic, which includes metal arches, gives it a "1950s Route 66 feel" that will make it a tourist attraction for cyclists visiting Albuquerque.

    n It will have an asphalt surface, rather than a wooden one, which makes for a smoother ride.

    n The bridge's rails will have lights in them, which will illuminate the path and won't blind cyclists as they cross.

    n The bridge will serve as a safe way for cyclists commuting from the West Side to make it Downtown without creating further congestion on the I-40 Bridge.

    The project has seen its share of bumps in the road ? both financial and controversial.

    In 2006, the state Transportation Department set aside more than $1.7 million for the bridge, but it was unclear at that time where the rest of the money would come from.

    "With this project being one of the more expensive ones, there just was no funding for it," Degenhardt said. "Under the (city's) master plan, it wouldn't have been completed for another 100 years."

 
 

Khalil J. Spencer
1799 Camino Uva
Los Alamos, NM 87544
505-661-8141
LAB Cycling Instructor #1173
http://www.labikes.blogspot.com/