Should Albuquerque tunnel under the Rio Grande or build new bridges across it? Mayoral hopefuls Eddie Varela and Darren White pitched big ideas to ease Westside traffic during a recent candidate forum hosted by business leaders.
The exchange came at a mayoral forum Tuesday, Sept. 30, hosted by business leaders with the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP). It showed how infrastructure is becoming a campaign issue ahead of the Nov. 4 election.
With growth straining river crossings, candidates said the city needs fresh solutions, even if they are costly or long-term. One called it a serious “concept,” the other joked while still acknowledging the need for action.
At the forum, Varela proposed digging “the tunnel straight to Rio Rancho” to ease congestion between the rapidly growing suburb and Albuquerque.
White replied, “I’ll see your tunnel and raise you two bridges.”
He later told CityDesk the remark was light-hearted, “You gotta have a little fun, right?”—but added that connecting the Westside is “something I think is important.”
Listen for yourself
Albuquerque mayoral candidates Eddie Varela (l) and Darren White (r) discussed one of ABQ’s everyday challenges: Crossing the river to and from the Westside. At the NAIOP candidate forum on Sept. 29, 2025, Varela made the case for digging a tunnel under the Rio Grande. White’s response got plenty of laughs but it was a nod to the serious issue Westside commuters report among their most frustrating.
Editor’s note: Thanks to KUNM for sharing their audio clip of the exchange which, because they are professional radio folks, was much better quality than ours from our little handheld recorder.
Varela’s tunnel vision
Varela, a retired fire chief, said in an interview he is not proposing a full tunnel to Rio Rancho but a short passage of about one or two miles, “just under the bridge … start maybe at Second Street, pops up over there on Southern.”
He said the idea was inspired by France’s English Channel tunnel and Elon Musk’s Las Vegas tunnel. He listed possible funding sources from federal and state governments, as well as Rio Rancho, Sandoval County, Bernalillo County and Albuquerque.
When pressed on cost, Varela admitted, “How much is the tunnel going to cost? I don’t know.”
In the U.S., subway tunnels typically cost $200 million to $4.2 billion per mile, according to transit cost analyses, which would put a 2-mile tunnel between $400 million and $8.4 billion.
Varela said he has not “done the homework” on feasibility but called it a “concept.” He defended the idea as creative thinking: “There’s tunnels in major cities all over the country. Why not Rio?”
White wants bridges, roads
White said he is serious about building another bridge to connect the Westside but would want community input on where it should go.
He acknowledged the project would not be finished within a four-year mayoral term but said his priorities are clear: “Roads, roads, roads and then a bridge.”
He contrasted his approach with Mayor Tim Keller’s, saying, “Mayor Keller has spent hundreds of millions of dollars building the Gateway Center for the homeless. How about a gateway to the west side for working families?” City Desk reported that the actual cost for building out the Gateway Center on Gibson Blvd. was around $70 million in 2024 and about $10 million more has been added since.
River crossings are notoriously slow to build. The Montaño Bridge, completed in 1997, took more than 30 years from its first proposal, a fight often described as a “30-year civil war” involving environmental groups and neighborhood opposition.
Why it matters
According to a study by the Mid-Region Council of Governments, Paseo del Norte, one of the most heavily used river crossings in the metropolitan area, carried 81,800 vehicles daily in 2010 — the most recent public count available. Projections at that time anticipated traffic reaching 180,000 vehicles per day by 2030, a target year the metro area is now approaching.
The U.S. 550 bridge, completed in 2019, was the first new Rio Grande crossing since the Montaño Bridge in 1997, underscoring how rarely new connections are built.
White said the metro area has “over a million people,” and continued, Westside growth is fueling commuter congestion.
Sandoval County has thoughts
We shared the tunnel pitch with Sandoval County Manager Wayne Johnson and asked for his reaction. “Is that possible? Is that feasible? Oh, there are a lot of things that are possible. Feasible? Feasibility is a different idea,” Johnson said. “Look, getting across the river, getting from one side of the river, anywhere in the metro area, to the other, is a huge problem, and I don’t see a solution. Coming up with a billion-dollar solution doesn’t look like a solution to me. It just looks like an idea.”
Campaign context
Varela is one of the lesser-known candidates in the race; polling shows 74% of voters don’t know him. White, a former sheriff, is better known and has pledged to serve only one four-year term if elected.
Both said their proposals are serious, not just an attention grab. “Not a chance. I’m real,” Varela said when asked if the tunnel was meant to set him apart. “This is the real deal.”
The Nov. 4 election features five challengers to incumbent Mayor Tim Keller. A runoff is likely if no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote.
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