The pieces of Rail Trail are coming together

A long-awaited piece of outdoors infrastructure that will connect some of the most vibrant parts of the city together is coming together, though officials said it will be years before it's completed.

The Rail Trail is a seven-mile walking and biking trail that will go through Barelas, Old Town, Downtown and connect to the preexisting Bosque Trail. The Rail Trail is also a part of a Sawmill streetscape project and Central Avenue project to create a more welcoming path to enter Downtown.

The Sawmill streetscape and a bridge into Downtown are expected to be completed by mid-2025, and the city hopes the entire Rail Trail will be walkable by 2028.

This year, the city will temporarily pause Rail Trail construction during the holidays, from late November to late December.

Building the trail

Designer Antoine Predock started working on the project almost 10 years ago, according to Paul Felhau, executive senior associate at Antoine Predock Architect PC. Predock will not see the project finished as he died in March, but his team continues his work.

“Getting all the budgets straight and getting them actually constructed will take quite awhile but rest assured it all does make sense,” said Felhau.

Antoine Predock Architect PC is designing Rail Trail, the intersection at Central Avenue and First Street in Downtown and consulting with the Sawmill streetscape project.

Veree Simons is the principal architect at Antoine Predock Architect PC. She is in charge of the Rail Trail Project.

She said key design elements Rail Trail will unify all construction projects. First, the trail path will be done in a uniform earth tone through all seven miles, and the second element is gateways, which are essentially large arches at each neighborhood along the path.

The underpass improvements will include a 25-foot lit-up tumbleweed as a gateway and Sawmill will have a saw blade-patterned archway, according to Simons

All nine neighborhoods along the trail will receive a unique entrance gate to highlight unique aspects of that community, said Simons.

“When you are driving on Mountain, for example, you’ll say 'Oh, that’s the Rail Trail,'” said Simons.

The Rail Trail will also be a public art project with “hot spots” designed by local artists, said Felhau, though the company has yet to start searching for the artists.

Simons said safety on the Rail Trail is at the forefront of Antoine Predock Architect PC design. Lighting, signage and understanding circulation patterns can all improve public safety, she said.

“It is all about transparency because if you can be seen, if you can see, you feel safer,” said Simons.

The hope is that the Rail Trail will be so frequently used that it will deter settling or camping because of the high foot and bicycle traffic, said Simons. In 2023 New Mexico ranked No. 1 for pedestrian traffic fatalities, according to a report from the Governors Highway Safety Association.

"This project would take people and bikes away from roads and allow them to get around safely,” said Jennifer Jackson, the city's Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency's deputy director.

The trail is being designed as a coherent whole, but is being funded and built in segments. It will ultimately have multiple funding sources.

The Downtown segment got funding awards from the Department of Transportation in 2022, which is why Sawmill development started after Downtown.

Officials are still determining funding sources for other parts of the Rail Trail, such as an extension from Mountain to Bellamah NE.

“It is a short segment but it will connect Sawmill to Old Town,” said Jackson. “We’re hoping that each segment has independent utility for that neighborhood.”

The city is hoping to get a large federal award for sections in Old Town, which still need impact studies before construction begins around there.