Boom! The Unser-Paseo widening project is about to enter its loudest phase 

Tens of thousands of Rio Rancho and Westside commuters who rely on the Unser Boulevard and Paseo del Norte corridor will hear — and feel — the next phase of construction starting Tuesday, as crews begin blasting through the basalt bedrock beneath one of the metro area’s most congested intersections.

Controlled blasting is scheduled to begin April 28 and continue throughout 2026, according to the City of Albuquerque. Blasting will occur approximately once per day, typically in the afternoon, with brief road closures during each detonation window. The city will post advance notice of upcoming blasts at upgradeunserpaseo.com. Exact timing may shift depending on weather, safety requirements and site conditions.

Star Paving Co. has contracted Dykon Blasting Corp. for the drilling and blasting work. Dykon is licensed for explosives use in New Mexico and has completed similar projects across the state. Albuquerque Police Department and Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputies will assist with traffic management during blasting operations.

The blasting marks a new phase in a $62 million project the City of Albuquerque launched in January to widen both corridors from two lanes to four — the largest road construction project in the city’s history. The project is expected to wrap in mid-to-late 2028.

“About 30,000 Rio Rancho residents use this road every day,” State Rep. Joshua Hernandez said at the January groundbreaking. “It’s unsafe. It’s too fast. This is a huge upgrade for everyone.”

The numbers back him up. According to MRCOG commuting flow data, traffic across Rio Grande river crossings in the Albuquerque metro surged to record levels in 2024, climbing from approximately 500,000 vehicles daily in 2014 to nearly 580,000 — the highest volumes recorded since tracking began in 1984, even with pandemic-era work-from-home rates still elevated. More than half of Sandoval County’s workforce crosses into Bernalillo County for work each day, making the Unser-Paseo corridor the primary on-ramp to the workday for tens of thousands of Rio Rancho residents. Regional models project demand on the broader Paseo del Norte corridor could more than double within 20 years, potentially reaching 180,000 vehicles per day.

What’s being built 

The completed project will widen both roads to four lanes, rebuild the Unser-Paseo intersection, add a center median, install 10-foot multi-use trails and 6-foot buffered bike lanes, upgrade stormwater infrastructure and add new street lighting.

Phase 1 construction began near Paradise Boulevard and is advancing southwest toward the intersection. A second phase will start west of Unser and work east. Future phases will extend improvements west to Rainbow Boulevard on Paseo and south to Rainbow on Unser.

“DMD’s mission is to make roads safer, smoother, and more reliable for everyone,” said Jennifer Turner, director of Albuquerque’s Department of Municipal Development, who noted that Star Paving will bring on up to 12 local subcontractors. “That’s local jobs, local money.”

Turner also reminded drivers that the construction zone speed limit is 25 mph. “When I drove up Unser to get here, no one was going 25 miles per hour,” she said at the groundbreaking. “Slow down and keep all of Star’s employees safe.”

State Rep. Joy Garrett framed the widening as a public safety issue as much as a congestion fix. On a two-lane road with no room to maneuver, she said, emergency vehicles get caught in the same gridlock as everyone else. “Often we are stopped for five minutes, 30 minutes while a fire engine, police cars, EMTs deal with issues,” Garrett said at the groundbreaking. “There’s no place to go.”

What drivers should do now 

Drivers should watch for signage and follow directions from on-site crews during blasting windows. Rio Rancho commuters can reduce exposure to Phase 1 disruptions near Paradise by using Golf Course Road or NM-528 as primary alternates during peak morning hours.

Unser-Paseo construction: What commuters need to know

• Blasting begins: Tuesday, April 28; continues throughout 2026
• When: Afternoon windows, approximately once daily
• Phase 1 zone: Paradise Blvd southwest to the Unser-Paseo intersection
• Full project timeline: Through mid-to-late 2028
• Construction zone speed limit: 25 mph
• Alternate routes: Golf Course Rd, NM-528
• Construction updates & blasting alerts: upgradeunserpaseo.com
• MRCOG regional traffic data:mrcog-nm.gov