ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A neighborhood is up in arms Wednesday night fighting a highway reconstruction project they fear may push into their neighborhood and destroy homes.
The Huning Highland neighborhood held its monthly meeting on Wednesday where the main topic was the notorious I-25 S-curve, which the state has been looking at ways to straighten out, for years.
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“There is no way for us to know everything there is to know without having active engagement from people that are potentially going to be affected, people that have businesses in the area, people that live in the area, people that travel the facility,” said one of the states planners said at Wednesday’s meeting.
“When they started out there were several options that impacted out neighborhood, historical homes in our neighborhood that can’t be replaced,” said Bonnie Anderson, who lives in the Huning Highlands neighborhood.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation alongside the Federal Highway Administration is conducting a study on the stretch of I-25 running from Lomas to Avenida Cesar Chavez to address the history of dangerous crashes and congestion in the area.
Wednesday’s presentation was to answer questions from the Huning Highlands neighborhood. Planners showcased two ideas to the neighborhood they say could solve the traffic problems along that stretch.
One idea would straighten the highway and shift it to the east, onto property owned by the Univesity of New Mexico and Albuquerque Public Schools. The other, which Huning Highlands neighbors are fighting, would shift it west where older houses in the neighborhood are.
“They gave us some good data. But we are feeling like we are wanting to support a no-build option for right now,” said Anderson.
“Why take the highway and any highway infrastructure actually into our neighborhood more? Our neighborhood was bisected once back in the 60s by the interstate,” said Katie Tull, another neighbor in the area.
Planners are also considering other options like extending the lengths of on and off ramps. NMDOT has extended the length of public comment for its study until June 10. We have a link here. If the project is approved for federal funding, construction could begin as soon as 2029.
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