Rio Rancho road construction picks up this summer as city maps out projects through 2028

Rio Rancho drivers will see road construction ramp up this summer and into 2028 as the city launches six road projects using state grants and voter-approved bond funds.

City Public Works Department Director BJ Gottlieb told the Rio Rancho Governing Body during a work session Tuesday that two state Transportation Project Fund grant projects are headed to construction this summer: Barbara Loop from NM 528 to Sara Road in June, and Western Hills Drive from Southern Boulevard to Cabezon Boulevard in August. Four additional corridors funded through the 2026 General Obligation Bond — Baltic Avenue, Springer Drive, Ridgecrest Drive and Honduras Road — are set to launch this fall, with completion targeted by spring 2028.

The construction push comes as the city’s Neighborhood Streets Improvement Program has completed more than 70% of its original backlog of eligible residential roads, treating approximately 109 centerline miles through 10 in-house phases since 2017. About 91 miles remain in the patch-and-seal backlog, with Phase 10 wrapping up in November 2026.

Two federally funded major projects — Unser Boulevard Phase 2B from Cherry Road to Paseo del Volcan, and the Southern Boulevard Phase 2A channel crossing near Nicklaus Drive — are also advancing through federal approval, with a target construction start of fall 2026 pending U.S. DOT authorization.

More details

• Rio Rancho maintains 495 centerline miles of paved roads — comparable to Las Cruces (509 miles) but managed on a significantly smaller general fund budget: $107 million versus Las Cruces at $146 million and Santa Fe at $138 million.
• The city also maintains 116 miles of graded dirt roads, far more than comparable cities: Las Cruces has 15 miles, Albuquerque 7.8 miles, and Santa Fe about 50 miles.
• Two longer-range design projects are also underway: Kim Road from Idalia Road to NM 528 (10% complete, final design expected August 2027) and Rainbow Boulevard from Irving Boulevard to Southern Boulevard (5% complete, 30% design targeted for December 2027), both being developed as “shovel ready” projects to compete for future federal construction funding.
• The Hybrid Mill and Inlay program — which fully reconstructs residential streets too deteriorated for patch-and-seal — has approximately 41 miles remaining. Phase 3 is ongoing; a Phase 4 covering roughly 6 more miles is pending budget approval.