The city of Rio Rancho City Council’s focus has been on road improvement due to the number of voters that said it was RR’s main problem.

“Roads are our priority right now. We’re going to try to get it done a little bit at a time,” Mayor Gregg Hull said.

Currently King Blvd. is at the start of its reconstruction and is set to finish in September of this year.

City Council is approving more roads as the legislative session gets under way.

Idalia Rd. and Loma Colorado Blvd. intersection will get improved.(City of Rio Rancho City Council Document)

The city of Rio Rancho was awarded a Capital Appropriation Project Grant by the New Mexico Legislature for improvements to the intersection of Idalia Road and Loma Colorado Boulevard.

Funding for the project  comes from a $300,000 2022 Legislature Capital Outlay, which will be paired with $600,000 provided from 2021 NM Legislature Capital Outlay. With that $900,000 in place, the city plans to commence with design and construction.

Deputy City Manager Peter Wells says more funding will probably be necessary, though, with total costs to be determined in the bidding processes.

The project will include the design and construction of a roundabout that was requested by the city due to new school-related traffic from the Shining Star Preschool.

The Laser Rd. project will span from Northern Blvd. to Quantum Rd.(City of Rio Rancho Council Documents)

The city was also awarded a Transportation Project Fund Grant by the NMDOT for the Laser Road Reconstruction Project from Quantum Road to Northern Boulevard.

The design for this project is ongoing and is anticipated to be completed in February 2023. This design includes adding a new base course, repaving the existing roadway, and adding a new water line with commercial services.

Laser Road lies between the Rio Rancho Municipal Court/Police Department and the Rio Rancho Public Schools main office.