City of Rio Rancho plans to improve congestion on Loma Colorado Blvd.

The city of Rio Rancho held a virtual public meeting last week to get input from residents on the Loma Colorado Extension Design.

The city is completing a comprehensive corridor study and preliminary design for Loma Colorado Blvd. from Northern Boulevard to Paseo del Volcan. The project area is located in the central part of Rio Rancho, in an area that is mostly undeveloped, with some residential and commercial developments.

The Loma Colorado Boulevard Extension Design includes Loma Colorado Boulevard from Northern Boulevard to Paseo del Volcan. The design is funded with approximately $190,000 in city funds and approximately $1.1 million in federal funds.

The design includes a widened road design with a four-lane divided roadway with bicycle lanes, a multi-use trail and sidewalk, right-of-way mapping, traffic signals, lighting, drainage, and utilities.

The proposal suggests improvements such as widening parts of the road to four lanes, adding sidewalks, bike lanes and trails for pedestrians. The city wants to improve traffic flow along a busy corridor near Rio Rancho Middle School.

“I’m sure users of the corridor note the congestion from the drop-off and pickup times, so we really wanted to take a look at this area to have the traffic flow better,” said Ed Potthoff, project manager at HDR Engineering.

Construction dates have not yet been determined and are dependent on funding. The total cost is estimated to be $22 million.