new mexico walking and biking trail projects secure funding

The New Mexico Department of Transportation is awarding just over $32.2 million for the funding of a wide variety of bike and walking path construction and upgrading projects.

The money is coming primarily through the Transportation Alternatives Funding program, a federal initiative encouraging the development of non-motorized vehicle infrastructure projects.

Altogether, 37 projects in the state are receiving Transportation Alternative Program funding, including the City of Farmington, which is getting a little over $300,000 for the enhancement of  Foothills Drive, a project designed to make that street safer for bikes and pedestrian traffic.

San Juan County is slated to receive nearly $680,000 in funding for the building of the Kirtland Schools Path Extension, a project designed to link a walking path between Kirtland Elementary School and Kirtland Central High.

San Juan is also receiving $427,000 for trail work inside the Glade Run Recreation Area.

A project that will see the reconstruction of the Upper Cat Walk Trail, a walkway providing stunning views of the geological foundations inside the Gila Nation Forest, will be getting $225,000.

In Dona Ana County, some $2.4 million will target the construction of the Elks Drive Connectivity Project, a 1.5-mile long multipurpose path connecting the Dona Ana Park with the Columbia Elementary School.

Las Cruces, meanwhile, is getting just under $1 million for bike and pedestrian path improvements throughout the city, with another $505,000 in funding for multiuse trail work.

A project inside the Cibola National Forest that will see improvements to the Sandia Trail is getting $189,000, while $1.6 million is aimed at the Tramway Trail overpass, which will see new surfacing.

An additional $5.5 million is targeting the design and construction of multi-use trails running along State Road 4 in the heart of the Jemez Pueblo in northwestern New Mexico.

The innovative effort will connect schools, residences, and a busy community center in the Jemez Pueblo.

A federal reimbursement program, the Transportation Alternatives Program is specifically designed for community-based projects. It was originally created in 2012 and reauthorized three years later as part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act.

By Garry Boulard

---