Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Freedom New Mexico
Gov. Bill Richardson is delivering on a promise made in a Clovis visit last May, announcing Thursday that he has secured the money to replace the Hull Street bridge.
The bridge is one of four eastern new Mexico road projects Richardson said will be paid for by combing state and federal dollars.
The bridge — which has been closed since June 2008 for safety reasons — will receive $6.63 million through a combination of federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ($831,439) and State Transportation Improvement Program dollars ($5.8 million).
Clovis City Manager Joe Thomas was reluctant to provide specific dates for construction Thursday night because he had not received official word from the Department of Transportation.
Thomas said if the money is available immediately, the project could go out to bid July 1 with bids received at the beginning of August.
Under that timeline, shovels could hit ground by the middle of September and the bridge could be completed by late May 2010.
“I know how important replacing the Hull Street Bridge is to the Clovis community and I am pleased to announce that we have secured the funds to get it done,” Richardson said in the release.