West side highway may become reality

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - There are renewed efforts to make Paseo Del Volcan a reality.

That’s the idea for a highway that would connect Rio Rancho and Albuquerque on the West Side.

Some people say, now’s the time to start the project  before West Side congestion gets even worse.

“We don't want another Coors Boulevard,” said Albuquerque City Council President Dan Lewis. “If we're not visionary…then we'll find ourselves being very reactionary.”

Lewis hopes this time, the project will get the momentum it needs.

“This is a road that's been talked about for 15 years,” Lewis said. “Thirty percent of the planning has been completed and a large portion of the road is done in Rio Rancho and Sandavol County.”

Right now, there’s not a lot out in the area of the proposed highway and that’s the point.

“If you wait until the neighborhoods fill in and then you try to build a road like this,” said Phillip Gallegos of the New Mexico Department of Transportation, “it becomes more problematic.”

The City Council voted unanimously on Monday to make the project a priority.

That means coming up with funding.

The city will have to work with Rio Rancho, Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, the state and the feds to fund the project.