Residents in Bernalillo County’s South Valley will get their chance Wednesday evening to learn about a $10 million infrastructure project designed to end the chronic flooding that has left neighbors feeling “trapped in their houses” during heavy rains.
Bernalillo County will host a public meeting from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Westside Community Center, 1250 Isleta Blvd. SW, to discuss the Barcelona Road Storm Drain Project. The project targets an area where county officials said rainwater often gathers on roadsides and in yards during storms, causing cars to stall out and creating standing water that attracts mosquitoes.
The meeting will focus on phase 2B of the project, which covers improvements from Barcelona Circle west to the Isleta Drain, including nearby Barcelona Circle, Vega Verde Street and Yuma Road, according to a county press release.
County engineers will share project updates, answer questions and gather feedback from the community. Gary Moreno-Ulibarri, the project engineer, can be reached at (505) 527-2657 or gmulibarri@bernco.gov for additional information.
The Barcelona Road project is part of the larger South Valley Flood Reduction effort designed to help reduce flooding and make roadways safer and easier to use. The South Valley, home to 38,338 residents according to 2020 census data, sits in a floodplain where residents have struggled with recurring water damage for years.
Several residents have called news outlets over the years, saying they feel trapped in their houses because of how deep the water becomes outside during storms. The area along Barcelona Road near Coors Boulevard has been particularly problematic, with water filling the intersection during downpours.
Bernalillo County has been working to address these issues over the past several years, spending millions of dollars to build new drainage ponds and install curbs, drains and better pipes “neighborhood by neighborhood,” county officials said in 2017. They’ve also been repaving and regrading roads to improve drainage.
Roger Paul, the county’s Public Works deputy director, told KOAT at the time that officials had spent $4 million on one project and $6 million on another, noting, “if we had unlimited money, we could take care of all of these flooding problems, but we don’t.”
The current Barcelona Road Storm Drain Project includes new storm drains to better manage rainwater, as well as new sidewalks, bike lanes and curbs along Barcelona Road and several side streets. The larger project encompasses roadway and drainage improvements from the Armijo Drain to the Isleta Drain, with drainage upgrades that will collect runoff and connect to the Armijo Drain, according to the county’s Public Works website.
Due to funding constraints, Phase 2 was split into 2A and 2B, with Phase 2A now complete. Phases 2B and 3 will be combined and will upgrade the road and storm drain from Barcelona Circle West to the Isleta Drain and reconstruct Barcelona Circle, Vega Verde St., and Yuma Rd., as well as Eames Rd., Sylvia Rd., Sylvia Pl., Dover Rd., La Loma Rd., and Hughes Rd.
The design for phases 2B and 3 is 90% complete, handled by consultant NV5 and funded by Bernalillo County Road Bonds, according to county documents.
Federal funding has been secured for phase 2B and phase 3, with construction expected to begin in winter 2026. The construction cost is estimated at approximately $10 million, according to county Public Works information.
County officials note that unless notified by the contractor ahead of time, there will be no roadway closures and access will be maintained to all properties for the length of the project.
For more information about the meeting, contact Melissa Smith, Senior Communications Specialist, through the county’s main number at (505) 468-7000.