Deadliest road in Albuquerque without streetlights after repair delays

The deadliest stretch of road for pedestrians in Albuquerque has been cloaked in darkness for more than a month since a crash knocked out streetlights in the area.

Public Service Company of New Mexico spokesperson Kai Porter said all 17 streetlights between Pennsylvania and Louisiana on Central went out on July 12, when a driver crashed into one light pole, cutting power to the others.

He said PNM, which owns those particular streetlights, has scheduled work to fix them every weekend since but has been redirected to restore weather-related outages affecting customers.

“It is a priority, and we are hoping to have streetlights restored by the end of the week,” Porter told the Journal. Barring further delays, the lights should be back on by Sunday, he said.

Porter said the work is set to begin Thursday, and those driving on Central can expect possible lane closures and delays as the repairs are ongoing.

The outage is smack-dab in the middle of the 3-mile stretch of Central, between San Mateo and Eubank, that has seen 34 people fatally struck by drivers between 2018 and 2023, according to a Journal analysis. The half-mile span between Louisiana and Pennsylvania accounts for at least 10 of those deaths.

Earlier this year, the city held a news conference outside the International District Library announcing various projects — such as pedestrian safety lights and raised medians — to improve safety but almost all of the projects were for other stretches of Central and surrounding areas.

In the months since, the city has announced that $1.7 million in funding has been secured to put 198 pedestrian safety lights on Central, between Louisiana and Eubank.

Ava Montoya, a city spokeswoman, said they are wrapping up the design phase and the project will go out to bid in the fall, with construction slated to start early next year.

The Department of Municipal Development has said that portion of Central is unique as it has a large walking population, with a person crossing the street every two minutes.

The stretch also has one of the largest homeless populations in the city.