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Thousands of Rio Rancho and Westside drivers who navigate the Unser Boulevard and Paseo del Norte intersection daily are in line for long-awaited relief — but they’ll need to endure roughly three years of construction to get there.
Albuquerque officially launched the largest road construction project in its history on March 17: a $62 million effort to widen both corridors from two lanes to four. Contractor Star Paving Co. has already begun work near Paradise Boulevard, moving southwest toward the intersection. The project is expected to wrap in mid-to-late 2028.
“Westsiders and all of Albuquerque deserve the quality of life upgrade this project will provide,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said at the groundbreaking. “Families will get home faster, travel safer, and spend less time stuck in traffic.”
Why it matters for Rio Rancho
The project sits within Albuquerque city limits, but its impact extends directly north. More than half of Sandoval County’s workforce crosses into Bernalillo County for work every day, according to MRCOG commuting flow data — 27,461 workers out of roughly 54,500 employed county residents, or about 50%. Rio Rancho comprises the large majority of Sandoval County’s population, making the Unser-Paseo corridor the primary on-ramp to the workday for tens of thousands of city residents. The figures are drawn from MRCOG’s analysis of 2009–2013 Census data, the most detailed county-level commuting study available for the region; the underlying imbalance has grown as Rio Rancho’s population has expanded since.
State Rep. Joshua Hernandez, who grew up in the area, put a sharper number on it at the groundbreaking. “About 30,000 Rio Rancho residents use this road every day,” he said. “It’s unsafe. It’s too fast. This is a huge upgrade for everyone.”
That commute has been getting harder. Traffic across Rio Grande river crossings in the Albuquerque metro area surged to record levels in 2024, jumping from approximately 500,000 vehicles daily in 2014 to nearly 580,000 — the highest crossing volumes since tracking began in 1984. The growth came despite elevated work-from-home rates that have persisted since the pandemic.
Estimates place current daily traffic through the Unser and Paseo del Norte intersection at between 35,000 and 45,000 vehicles, though MRCOG has not published a confirmed count specific to that junction. 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 as the Northwest Mesa and southern Rio Rancho continue to grow.
What’s being built
Phase 1 construction begins at Paradise Boulevard and advances southwest. A second phase will start west of Unser and work east, widening Paseo del Norte from Calle de Norteña to just past Unser. Future phases will extend improvements west to Rainbow Boulevard on Paseo and south to Rainbow on Unser. City Councilor Dan Lewis, a 15-year champion of the project, said the intent is to keep building continuously once Phase 1 wraps rather than pause for additional funding cycles.
The full project includes:
- Widening both roads to four lanes
- A rebuilt Unser-Paseo intersection
- A new center median
- 10-foot multi-use trails
- 6-foot bike lanes with 3-foot buffers
- New street lighting
- Upgraded stormwater collection and a new detention pond
“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. Turner noted that Star Paving will bring on up to 12 local subcontractors for the project. “That’s local jobs, local money,” she said.
Beyond commuters: a public safety argument
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 stuck alongside everyone else. “Often we are stopped for five minutes, 30 minutes while a fire engine, police cars, EMTs deal with issues,” she said. “There’s no place to go.”
Drivers should expect shifting traffic patterns, lane disruptions — and eventually, blasting. Much of the corridor sits on hard basalt that crews will need to blast through. The project website will post advance notice of when to expect loud explosions.
Turner reminded drivers at the groundbreaking 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. “Slow down and keep all of Star’s employees safe.”
Rio Rancho commuters can reduce exposure to Phase 1 disruption near Paradise by using Golf Course Road or NM-528 as primary alternates during peak morning hours.
Unser-Paseo Construction: What to Know
- What’s being built: Unser Blvd and Paseo del Norte widened to 4 lanes; rebuilt intersection; multi-use trails and buffered bike lanes added
- Contractor: Star Paving Co. (family-owned, Albuquerque; up to 12 local subcontractors)
- Timeline: Underway now through mid-to-late 2028
- Phase 1 work zone: Paradise Blvd southwest to the Unser-Paseo intersection
- Heads up: Blasting required through basalt — check website for timing
- Alternate routes: Golf Course Rd, NM-528
- Construction updates & alerts: upgradeunserpaseo.com
- MRCOG 2024 Traffic Flow Maps: mrcog-nm.gov
