Construction begins on new bike lanes along Central corridor in downtown Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It's a project that's been in the works for years for a way to make downtown Albuquerque more bicycle-friendly.
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Drivers can expect to see detours downtown for the next few weeks as the city restripes the road to make designated bike lanes along Central Ave. Construction began on Monday with work planned between 1st and 8th streets.
To get the work done, crews will be closing lanes on either side and drivers will need to take detours along side streets. To make room for the five-foot bike lanes on each side of the street with a two-foot buffer between bikes and traffic, the city is removing a lane down the middle of Central Ave.
Albuquerque City Councilor Joaquin Baca said they got a lot of questions from businesses, worried about losing the middle lane, which is used for deliveries. 'For one, it's always been illegal to use the center lane for a delivery lane. Just imagine that happening in any other part of the city. Two, as I said we spent the last year working with the existing business owners figuring out how do we do that. Designating locations to put parking spaces,' said Baca.
It's a part of a project years in the making, with a goal of making downtown more bike and pedestrian-friendly. 'It's pretty clear in downtowns across the country if you put in bike lanes, that makes things better for traffic, for shops, and for pedestrians,' said Baca.
Community groups KRQE News 13 spoke with on Monday said it will make the community safer. 'By adding these bike lanes, it's going to make it safer for people to move across the city and actually the more bike lanes you install, it actually frees up more space for people in cars,' said William Indelicato with Strong Towns ABQ.
Baca said construction is expected to last three weeks. The total cost of the project is $220,000.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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