By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.
Rio Rancho’s long-promised widening of Northern Boulevard is nearly finished — on paper. City officials and their design team told residents last week the Phase B expansion, stretching roughly 1.5 miles from Acal Place to Broadmoor Boulevard, is now 99% designed, though dirt won’t move until property owners along the corridor are bought out starting in 2027.
Project engineers with Huitt-Zollars and NV5, presenting alongside the city’s Public Works department and the New Mexico Department of Transportation, walked through the finished plan during a virtual meeting: four driving lanes with a raised median, sidewalks and bike lanes on both sides, a new pedestrian trail, and a rebuilt drainage system that expands the Montoyas Arroyo crossing to handle stormwater from the widened road.
The city first pitched the project to residents at public meetings in May and September 2022, and design work has been underway since Northern Blvd’s Phase B design contract launched in 2021. Construction will happen in two chunks — Unser Boulevard to a realigned Edinburgh Street/Fruta Road intersection, then the remaining stretches on either end — with crews holding one lane open in each direction throughout.
The plan also replaces the aging traffic signal at Unser Boulevard and adds a new signalized intersection at Edinburgh Street and a realigned Fruta Road. New water and sewer lines will run the length of the corridor, including a 12-inch water line between Unser and Calor Road and new sanitary sewer segments near the Montoyas Arroyo. City officials said crews will keep access open to driveways, cross streets, emergency responders and Eagle Ridge Middle School during construction.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 1.5 miles: length of the Phase B project area
- 99%: design completion as of the September meeting
- 2027: year right-of-way acquisition is set to begin
- Oct. 9: deadline for public written comment
More info
Submit comments on the Northern Blvd Expansion Phase B project by Oct. 9, 2026:
- Byron Schneid, NV5 — (623) 374-6637 — Byron.Schneid@nv5.com
- Mail: NV5, Attn: Byron Schneid, 6501 Americas Pkwy NE, Suite 400, Albuquerque, NM 87110
- Project info: rrnm.gov/5067/Northern-Blvd-Expansion-Phase-B