The much-delayed Route 66 Visitor Center on Albuquerque’s west side may have inched closer to holding a grand opening after the county approved a $250,000 appropriation for it.
But, according to an Albuquerque Journal report, doubts about the project persist:
However, during the April 22 meeting, the board raised questions about the project’s future and feasibility. Commissioner Frank Baca, whose district includes the visitor center, brought the proposal forward, arguing that moving the center closer to opening would benefit the entire region.
“I don’t know how that’s going to get done, and I don’t quite know if it will get done, but I do think that there is a potential for it to get done,” Frank Baca said. […]
Bernalillo County Economic Development Director Marcos Gonzales told the commission the city was close to hiring two executive-level positions. Once complete, he said the goal is for the center to start public programming in June on Thursdays through Sundays.
Albuquerque Arts and Culture Department Deputy Director Diego Lucero said there are still issues with the facility, including “some fire suppression issues.”
So far, about $14 million has been spent on the Route 66 Visitor Center, situated on Nine Mile Hill on the city’s far west side.
Several tentative dates for the facility’s opening have come and gone in the past few years. It also been saddled with construction delays and cost overruns.
The county and the city probably are feeling pressure to get it open soon. Route 66’s centennial begins in about seven months.
(Screen-capture image from video of the Route 66 Visitor Center in Albuquerque)