Village of Corrales officials are planning a pedestrian walkway along Corrales Road, including this spot.
Photo by Brandon Carroll / For the Observer

CORRALES — The Village of Corrales plans to soon begin construction on a long-awaited pedestrian path along its main road.

Construction for the Corrales Pathway is expected to begin in July and is meant to provide a safe walking path to a section of town with growing pedestrian traffic and safety concerns.

“There are two purposes of the pathway,” said Sandy Rasmussen, Corrales MainStreet executive director and the spokeswoman behind the project.

Those goals are to provide safe pedestrian access to the businesses along Corrales Road and improve access to those businesses.

According to the project’s website, corralespathway.org, it is “a project destined to make Corrales a safer, more prosperous and attractive place to live, work, visit and shop.”

Corrales MainStreet is managing the project, which is expected to cost up to $1.5 million, with Phase 1 having a $221,000 to $271,000 price tag.

The pathway will go along Corrales Road, alternating sides, from West Meadowlark Lane to Dixon Road, stretching approximately a mile and a half, according to the website. Rasmussen said construction would begin near San Ysidro Church, heading south.

“We will not have curbs and gutters. We want to keep the ambiance of the village, so we are looking at surfaces that will ‘blend in’ with what we have now,” she said.

To make the pathway more attractive, The Corrales Garden Tour has raised funds for landscaping and maintenance, while art installations will also be included in the route, according to the website.

“This is the closest we have been to starting since this project was suggested probably 15 years ago,” Rasmussen said.

The pathway is in the design stage.

Due to financial constraints, it will be done in phases, with hopes of Phase 1 beginning this summer and ending late this year, she said. She expects three to four phases.

Rasmussen said the pathway would be installed after the fire-suppression water lines Corrales Fire Department is having put in along Corrales Road. That way, workers won’t dig up the pathway to put in the water lines.

Funding for the project will come from various sources, such as state, federal and corporate grants; state capital outlay money from the legislature; Village of Corrales bonds; and private donations.

Corrales MainStreet is accepting donations for the foreseeable future.

People can donate on the project website. Checks payable to Corrales MainStreet with the word “pathway” in the memo line can be sent to Corrales MainStreet, PO Box 1531, Corrales, NM 87048.