ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A stretch of road where numerous drivers and pedestrians have died or been seriously injured in car crashes is being targeted by the feds for multi-million dollar grant to address road safety. Bernalillo County has been awarded $6.3-million dollars in federal funding for a two-mile project on Coors that will reshape the roadway.
According to the county, the project will add protected bike lanes and sidewalks, better crosswalks and several traffic calming measures on the southern end of Coors Boulevard between Blake Road and Gun Club Road. That includes the intersection of Coors and Rio Bravo, near the Walmart Supercenter.
According to the county, the project will also include several roadway related changes for drivers, including reduced widths of traffic lanes and lower speed limits. Today, the posted speed limit in the area is between 40 mph and 55 mph depending on which stretch drivers are on.
Other project features are expected to be “advanced stop bars,” which are bold white marking further back from an intersection that indicate drivers should stop their car away from a crosswalk. The county is also promising to refresh crosswalk markings and raise medians along Coors Boulevard from Blake Road to Gun Club Road.
In total, the project is expected to cost $7.9 million. The $6.3 million from the federal grant leaves a tab of $1.6 million, a cost that is going to be split between the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.
Before the project can begin and the county receives federal funding, officials say Bernalillo County will have to “establish and execute a signed, mutually agreed upon grant agreement” for the project. The project is one of 510 projects to receive funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Safe Streets and Road for All Grant Program.”
