Just over $1.2 million in state funding has been approved for the construction of a long talked-about Route 66 Visitors Center in Albuquerque.
The funds, passed by the New Mexico State Legislature earlier this year and subsequently approved by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, will be added to money for the project already secured from county and city sources.
The project, designed to celebrate the historic Route 66 highway stretching from the Midwest to Southern California, which slices through Albuquerque, will include an amphitheater, banquet and meeting space, and communal kitchen.
Additional Bernalillo County capital outlay funding signed off on by the Governor includes $1.1 million for the building of the Mesa Del Sol Regional Outdoor Sports Complex to go up inside the growing Mesa Del Sol subdivision in south Albuquerque.
As planned, the 180-acre facility will be used for a variety of recreational activities, including soccer, rugby, and cricket.
Exactly $500,000 has been approved for the building of the North Valley Aquatic Center in the North Valley of Albuquerque; while another half million is slated for general improvements to the Rio Bravo Park at 3912 Isleta Boulevard.
The county has also secured $1 million for the planning, design, and building of a transitional living and recovery center.
The largest appropriation, at nearly $2.6 million, is going for the purchase of land, and the planning, design, and building of a new fire station on the west side of the county.
The Governor vetoed eleven Bernalillo County projects, the largest of which is the demolition and replacement of the South Valley Multipurpose Senior Center at 2008 Larrazola Road.
The legislature had approved $4.7 million in funding for that project.
By Garry Boulard
