Rio Rancho looks to widen portion of Unser Boulevard next year

RIO RANCHO, N.M. – The City of Vision has their sights on improving a major traffic headache in Rio Rancho.

The city wants to double the amount of lanes from Cherry Road to Paseo del Volcan. Planning is still in the early phases, but they are looking at securing federal dollars. 

Mayor Gregg Hull says part of securing federal dollars is having public meetings to get community feedback. They’ve already hosted one meeting and residents KOB 4 spoke to says this road work is much needed. 

“It’s very congested and the more houses they build out this way, the more businesses. They need to do something,” said Carol Jones, a Rio Rancho resident. 

It doesn’t take much for the two lane road to get backed up, and nearby residents notice it too. 

“I think Rio Rancho needs to do something to improve the roads around here. There is a lot of congestion, especially down if you go past Southern on Unser it is ridiculous. I’m 10 minutes from the hospital, and it takes me 20 minutes to get there,” said Jones. 

“I think there is enough traffic on Unser these days, I have been here 10 years, and it needs to be expanded. There is a back-up every now and again, it does happen,” said Bill Nyger, another Rio Rancho resident. 

The city is now in the design phase of expanding Unser to four-lanes with the plans of also adding bike paths, pedestrian crosses and sidewalks.

“Over the years we have put bandages on it like the patches that you see right here. This stretch has a pretty large patch in it, but now it is time to really address the road in and of itself,” said Rio Rancho Gregg Hull.

According to the city, the road sees around 15,000 vehicles on an average weekday, some traffic relief is much needed.

“As we’ve been standing here, a lot of cars going by here on a daily basis, so this is the next priority to get this expanded and get a continuous flow for this area,” said Hull. 

Residents we spoke to say they’re glad the city is getting the ball rolling on improvements as the population continues to grow.  

“It is insane how much subdivisions are popping up. Just up the hill within the span of a couple of months the whole area just exploded, and the houses are ready to live in, it’s crazy. With the expansion, I think it’s necessary,” said Jacob Nieto, a Rio Rancho resident. 

Their target date to begin construction is the spring of 2025. There is also still time to give the city feedback on the area, they plan to have another public meeting in the near future.