10-Mile Bus Rapid Transit System Planned in Albuquerque

Dan McKay describes a proposal for a total overhaul of Route 66 through Albuquerque: "Buses would travel down the middle of Central Avenue as passengers wait under canopy-covered stations. On most stretches, cars would be limited to one or two lanes each way. Wide sidewalks and new landscaping would flank the roadway."

McKay goes on to detail the political efforts, led by Mayor Richard Berry, to win federal funding the "10-mile, $100 million network of express buses along Central Avenue between Louisiana and Coors." Albuquerque Rapid Transit, or ART, is hoping to win $80 million in funding for the project from the federal government. The city council has already approved about $13 million in bonds for the project, in a show of broad political support for the project.

McKay notes, however, reticence among some in the local business community. The article includes a lot more of the critical details of the proposed project, which, if all goes according to plan, would be ready for operation in September 2017.