By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.
Republican governor candidate Gregg Hull has a clear message for Corrales residents worried about a new Rio Rancho river crossing: relax.
Hull, the former Rio Rancho mayor, said at an Albuquerque Journal town hall on May 11 that any new crossing would require navigating approvals from Corrales, Sandia Pueblo and federal Indian Affairs — obstacles he called insurmountable. “Would I support it? Yeah, absolutely,” he said of a crossing in the abstract, but added the probability was “not high” and that expanding existing infrastructure made more sense.
In a follow-up interview, Hull was unequivocal. “You’re never going to get one through Corrales. You’re not going to get one through Sandia,” he told The Paper. “It’s never going to happen.” Hull suggested a more realistic fix would be converting Paseo del Norte into a stacked highway to improve traffic flow in both directions.
Corrales resident Mary Ellen Capek, who attended the town hall, said Hull’s remarks raised a separate concern: Hull described Rio Rancho’s underground water resources as abundant and well-suited for development without acknowledging that Corrales and neighboring pueblos rely on the same aquifer. Capek said Hull’s broader message — that New Mexico needs Rio Rancho-style development to solve the state’s problems — overlooked the need to protect shared regional resources.
“Make no mistake, when anybody has asked me about a bridge out of Rio Rancho or a river crossing somewhere in Corrales, I have always said, it’s not going to happen,” Hull said. “Meaning it’s not even worth talking about.”
Watch Hull’s full town hall remarks: youtube.com/watch?v=c7nGzOrvk0o (bridge discussion at 1:13:45)