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County awards $2.47 million construction contract for Santa Fe Rail Trail Segment 6 and Cerro Alto trailhead
Summary
Santa Fe County awarded a construction contract to Meridian Contracting Inc. to build a 1.78-mile crusher‑fine rail trail segment and a new Cerro Alto trailhead, funded by a mix of lodging tax, capital outlay GRT, Trails+ grant and EDA funds.
The Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners on June 24 approved a construction contract with Meridian Contracting Inc. for the Santa Fe Rail Trail Segment 6 and the Cerro Alto trailhead.
Public works staff said the project — a 1.78‑mile crusher‑fine trail extending from Spur Ranch Road along the railroad right‑of‑way to a new trailhead adjacent to U.S. 285 — was procured via invitation for bids and that Meridian was the lowest responsible bidder. The contract price is $2,470,589 exclusive of New Mexico gross receipts tax; the county’s capital package for the project includes multiple funding sources: lodgers tax, capital outlay gross receipts tax, a Trails+ grant and a reimbursable Department of Commerce/EDA grant.
Project staff said the trail will traverse a mix of county, conservancy and state‑managed lands and will end at a new Cerro Alto trailhead on county property beside U.S. 285. The contract includes base work and contingency; staff indicated the segment is one step in a multi‑segment plan that will later address crossings and extensions to Lamy.
Commissioners asked about neighbor outreach and whether adjacent residents support the alignment; staff said they have worked with landowners, routed the trail to minimize direct impacts and will continue outreach. Commissioner Hank Hughes moved to approve the contract; Commissioner Adam Johnson seconded. The motion carried by voice vote.
County staff said final trail segments and highway crossing engineering will be handled in subsequent phases and that the county is pursuing segment 7 design work to provide safe crossings to extend the rail trail further.
