New bike bridge in Albuquerque dedicated to bicycle advocate Gail Ryba

Albuquerque officially opened a new bicycle bridge over the Rio Grande River on Monday that helps link the city's 400-some miles of bicycle paths and trails.

The $6.9 million bridge just north of I-40 is named for Gail Ryba, left, the founder of Bike ABQ, the city's first bicycle advocacy group. She died of cancer earlier in May.

The Gail Ryba Memorial Bridge, together with the approaches, is about a mile long. It was built with $5.3 million in federal stimulus funds, along with $1.3 million kicked in by the city.

The bridge improves access from the westside to downtown and Old Town and will supplement the only other Rio Grande crossing, the Alameda Road bridge.

It provides a central link for the the north-south Paseo Del Bosque Trail on the eastside to the trail along Atrisco Drive NW and 57th Street NW on the westside. [See a list and maps of all bicycle trails in Albuquerque.]

Bike group

The advocacy group Ryba founded, BikeABQ, seeks to increase the number of people who use bicycles in Albuquerque. It mainly concentrates on bicycle education, working with government agencies to ensure public projects are bicycle-friendly, and encouraging people to bike. It sponsors the annual Bike Swap and Bike-to-Work Day, and Bike-a-Palooza.

Most bicyclists interviewed about the new bridge by local KOB-TV said the bridge was necessary. One, however, said it was a waste of money, and that the city should have spent the money to repair cracks in the city's trail system.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that the Bosque trail will get repaved with money leftover from the bridge project.

Ryba, a native of Seattle, also founded the Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico. The League of American Bicyclists honored her in 2010 with the Phyllis Harmon Volunteer of the Year Award. Learn more about Gail Ryba at the Fans of Gail Ryba page on Facebook.com.