Gallup: Goodbye to railroad traffic delays
Multiple overpasses looking more likely

By Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

GALLUP — It's looking more and more likely that someday in the future area residents will see overpasses or underpasses at both the Allison Crossing and downtown Gallup.

State Rep. Patricia Lundstrom said Monday that the decision by the state legislature and Gov. Bill Richardson to provide funds for an engineering design indicates state support for the project as well.

During the past year, the idea of overpasses or underpasses between the southern and northern portion of the city has been gaining more and more momentum.

In March, the state legislature approved $400,000 for the project, and Richardson added another $400,000 from his discretionary funds. All of this will be used for designing of the project, said Lundstrom.

"Something like this usually costs about a million dollars," she said.

While city officials indicated that the Allison Crossing project would probably be given priority over the downtown project, Lundstrom said the state is viewing both projects as one and is looking at trying to raise the $25 million to develop both projects as one.

She said both projects make sense the Allison crossing project since it will help encourage commercial development in that area and the Second and Third Streets project because it would help the downtown area.

She pointed out that Gallup doesn't have much land available for commercial development and the Allison Crossing project would reduce congestion. "There's also a safety issue there as well," she said.

As for doing both projects at once, she said that makes sense given the way the federal government provides funding for these kinds of projects.

Most of the funding for the project is expected to come from federal grants, with the city and the railroad expected to come up with the matching funds probably $5 million.

The federal government plans its road construction projects in five year spans the last one was developed in 2006 so by working on both projects as one, they could be made ready for development in the next go-around, she said.