Some Town of Bernalillo leaders are asking state authorities to put the brakes on a road project they say would be detrimental to their community.
An open letter to the New Mexico Department of Transportation, dated Sept. 2, asks the department to halt the widening and extension of Paseo del Volcan, which its signers — Mayor Jack Torres and town councilors Gerred Prairie, Sharon Torres-Quintana and Vincent Montoya — believe will benefit Rio Rancho.
“The Town of Bernalillo stands in support of … efforts to assist local communities with economic development,” the letter begins. “However, the NMDOT must be cognizant and ensure that no harm be done to neighboring communities as they endorse, support and fund projects.”
The letter says the plan to connect Paseo del Volcan with I-40 appears, on the surface, to be a laudable goal, but that town representatives have repeatedly requested information about the project, which was denied to them.
“Further, our concerns about the harm this will cause our community have been ignored,” the letter states. “We ask once again to see the traffic analysis of the impact to our community. Although the recent construction on US 550 through Bernalillo made some improvements, there remain issues as commuters continue to overburden capacity. With this bypass complete, will we see a 20% increase through Bernalillo? Will the increase be 50%? As of today, no one has been willing to share that analysis with us.”
The letter says the eventual project goal of allowing traffic to exit I-40, take Paseo del Volcan to US 550 and connect with I-25 north of town “would be catastrophic to the Town of Bernalillo.”
One assertion is that the retail core of Bernalillo would suffer as “easy off, easy on” traffic was lost.
“Rio Rancho has continued to grow at a remarkable pace with seemingly no regard for the impacts on its neighbors,” the letter concludes. “We have attempted to get along and be a good neighbor. We also realize that although most of the cut-through commuter traffic simply use the roads, many of them do shop and avail themselves of services in Bernalillo. We appreciate that support. The ultimate-four lane extension (proposal) is a project that cannot continue. NMDOT cannot support one community at the expense of another. Although we are a small community, we matter.
“On behalf of the citizens and businesses of the Town of Bernalillo we adamantly oppose any continued support or funding of the proposed extension of Paseo del Volcan.”