ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A downtown Albuquerque underpass known to be a hotspot for the homeless, drugs, and crime is getting a much-needed makeover.
“It should be a much easier flow from between Downtown,” said City of Albuquerque’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency Director Terry Brunner. “If you looked at it today, you would see some of the pillars there of the archway have been taken out.”
For years, the underpass at Central Avenue and 1st Street has been an unwelcoming, and sometimes dangerous path for people headed into and out of downtown Albuquerque. The problems include lack of cleanliness, drug use, and crime.
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City officials have attempted to fix the issues in the past with work such as repainting it and adding more lighting and speakers to keep people from sleeping there.
“For years, they’ve been an issue with crime and people camping out in there and hanging out in there and causing problems,” Brunner explained.
Officials said the bridge has been there since the 1930s, and aside from basic maintenance, not much has changed. This new project will completely change what the Central bridge will look like.
Officials said demolition around the area will take another four to five weeks, and then, construction will begin.
“We’ll have one ramp on the southwest corner, next to Alvarado Station, and then two ramps on the opposite side in Edo towards Broadway,” Brunner added.
The new ramps will be 12 to 16 feet wide, nearly tripling the size of the current paths. City officials expect the project around $18 million to complete. Signs in the area are helping pedestrians find detours until the project is complete.
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“We’re going to make sure there’s always a way for pedestrians to cross at the underpass level for a while until the construction is done on two of the ramps,” Brunner said.
City officials anticipate the project to be finished around the fall or winter of next year.
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