Work on Rail Trail project begins in Albuquerque’s Sawmill District

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A project that has been more than a decade in the works is finally becoming a reality. The city officially broke ground on the first phase of the Rail Trail.

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The seven-mile multiuse trail is designed to connect Old Town, Downtown Albuquerque, and the bosque. It will also connect to the Sawmill District where phase one begins. “The idea, once this is done, you’re actually going to have some feel some indication of what the whole trail will be about,” said Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller.

The city said the vision for the $40 million project is to connect key destinations in the greater downtown area and promote each neighborhood’s culture and history. In the long term, the city hopes to see the project attract new businesses and housing.

Thursday’s groundbreaking kicked off construction near the Sawmill Market where the trail will proceed south toward Mountain Rd. “This was pretty easy to do, so its straight, not a lot of curves and we could acquire the property, so I thought we do it right away,” said Director Terry Brunner, Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency.

Along Bellamah, people will soon see a new streetscape and pavement improvements then along the trail, lighting along with benches and archways they are also working on artwork for the trail.

This part of the project, at a cost of $3 million, is expected to be completed by next summer. The city plans to have the whole 7-mile biking and walking trail complete by 2028

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