By February 2022, ABQ RIDE customers in District 5 will be able to use a new bus shelter that city leaders broke ground on Dec. 20.
The bus stop at Coors Boulevard NW and Eagle Ranch Road is reported by the city to have been in the works for about a decade. The stop will be available for use to about the 2,000 residents who live in the area and serves several ABQ RIDE routes including the 790 ARTx Blue Line, 96 Crosstown Commuter and 155 Coors routes.
“This has been years in the making and we are happy to be able to provide our riders with a safe and convenient shelter while they wait for the bus,” Stephanie Dominguez, interim transit director of ABQ RIDE said.
It will be a slightly more extensive than other shelter installations due to the lack of sidewalks in the area. In addition to the shelter, the construction includes a bench, refuse receptacle and native seeding, along with safety railing and ADA-compliant sidewalk and accessories.
Council President Cynthia Borrego, who advocated for the stop, said she had long watched residents waiting in the elements to catch the bus and is ready for this improvement to come to fruition.
“The bus stop improvements at the location are long awaited and much needed by District 5 residents, businesses and visiting bus commuters to Albuquerque’s northwest mesa,” Borrego said.
Borrego says she was also able to secure $18,000 from the 2021 New Mexico State Legislature for the Golf Course Road NW and Ellison Drive NW bus stop. Another $1,069 was secured from the District 5 GO Bond Set-Aside Funding to complete the project.
The cost of the Coors Boulevard NW and Eagle Ranch Road stop is about $150,000. Construction begins today and has an estimated completion date of February 2022.
