Construction has begun on one of the Rail Runner’s major transit hubs in Santa Fe.
The station — located behind the state Department of Transportation headquarter on Cerrillos Road and the South Capitol state government buildings facing St. Francis Drive — will be the only one in which doors on both sides of the commuter train will open, providing easy access to a network of buses, parking and 6,000 nearby jobs.
“The Rail Runner will provide a safe, environmentally friendly and affordable alternative to modern transportation in the heart of our state,” Lawrence Rael, executive director of the Mid-Region Council of Governments, said during a ground-breaking ceremony Thursday.
Located between Alta Vista Street and Cordova Road, the double platform will include shade canopies, wind screens and benches, as well as spaces for Park and Ride, a “kiss and drop” area and buses.
Some of the Park and Ride space will be along the western edge of the existing parking lot for state government’s Joseph Montoya Building at 1100 St. Francis Dr., which houses offices for the General Services Department.
Construction will include the realignment of Pacheco Street, with now has its northern end at Alta Vista just east of the railroad tracks. Pacheco will be curved to the east, making its intersection with Alta Vista farther from the tracks and closer to St. Francis Drive, to help keep traffic back-up away from the rail route.
The work is expected to be completed in late November.
“Construction is moving along as planned and we continue to ask for everyone’s patience and understanding during these last four months of work,” said Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught.
The $3 million South Capitol Complex Station is one of three stops planned for Santa Fe. The others are the Railyard downtown, where the platform needs Americans with Disabilities Act-improvements, and the intersection of Interstate 25 and N.M. 599.
The state is also already pouring concrete for a platform at Zia Road and St. Francis Drive, but will not stop the train at that location until the station’s private developers have created infrastructure and gained approval from the city of Santa Fe for their plans, which include retail, office and residential units.
The commuter rail service is expected to begin in December, when rides will be free to Santa Fe County residents for the first three months.
