Los Lunas Boulevard project nears start date with slight detour

LOS LUNAS — The Los Lunas Village Council got an update on phase one of the Los Lunas Boulevard Corridor Project at its regular meeting on Thursday, April 10.

There appears to be a start in sight for the long-awaited project; however, there is one more slight detour before construction can begin.

Los Lunas Public Works Director Michael Jaramillo gave preliminary notice to proceed with the project. The council accepted that proposal and unanimously approved an additional step — a plan to convene an escrow review committee to vet the lower of the two bids received for the project.

That low bid came from Rio Rancho-based El Terrero Construction.

After the meeting, Jaramillo said once fully approved, the much-anticipated project will likely break ground in July with construction commencing in August.

In his presentation to the council, Jaramillo explained the extra step involving the review was being taken, “because of the size of the project,” and heralded the project as the “largest local-lead project in New Mexico history.”

Wyatt D. Kartchner, of Molzin Corbin, an Albuquerque-based engineering firm, explained the step further to the council.

“In order to protect the village, we took an extra step in the bid process to require the contractors to submit escrow bid documents,” Kartchner said.

He gave a description of the committee and its process, which includes selecting five items from a review list and “to make sure everything is on the up and up.” Jaramillo said the committee, made up of local officials, representatives from the bid-winning company and a rep from Molson Corbin, would likely meet this week. The results will then be presented to NMDOT for approval.

“All our paperwork is in,” he said. “Everything is done and they’ve already given us a conditional notice of award. They (NMDOT) just wanted us to complete (the review) step. Once that step is completed, the council authorized us to give a notice of award to the contractor and that starts everything. There’s a lot to do.”

In comments after the presentation and approval, Mayor Charles Griego praised all involved for their hard work in seeing the Los Lunas Boulevard project get to this point.

“When we started this process we had zero dollars to begin with,” Griego said. “So it’s been an ongoing project to get where we’re at now. We have available funds of $172 million, in that neighborhood … It’s important to say that this is a local-lead project. It’s not been led by the DOT. It’s been led by the village of Los Lunas.”

The corridor will span from Interstate 25 to the east, across N.M. 314, over the Rio Grande and ending at N.M. 47. The project includes a new exit and interchange on I-25, south of Main Street, a bridge across the Rio Grande and a two-lane highway spanning from I-25 to N.M. 47.

The Los Lunas Boulevard Project was originally slated to begin in November 2024, but the start date was pushed back to March of this year as bidding for the project was delayed to December 2024. After an unsatisfactory initial bid process, the village opened the bidding again and narrowed the prospects to two companies.

Now the project will take a small sidestep so the village can fully vet El Terrero Construction’s bid of $159,094,001. Based in Rio Rancho, El Terrero beat out FNF Construction of Albuquerque. FNF’s bid was more than $169 million for the complete corridor project.

According to the meeting agenda. Los Lunas’ overall budget for the project is currently $170.3 million, with the bulk of the money coming from the Federal Highway Commission and the New Mexico Department of Transportation. The village has also collected a total of $18 million through a combination of sources, including the state Legislature, the State Invest Bank and Valencia County, which also assisted in securing state funding.

To view the plans for the Los Lunas Boulevard Corridor Project, visit loslunasnm.gov/interchange.

In other business:

• The council also heard from Jaramillo about the North Los Lentes project, which will be suspended due to lack of funding.

Jaramillo explained the scope and term of the project became a challenge and the village found out on April 9 that the work would cost more than the awarded amount.

One complicating factor was a rail certification required by NMDOT, which was estimated to be completed in June, endangering federal funding that would expire before the June date. Because of that, it was recommended that the funding be switched to another public works project, the I-25/N.M. 6 on and off ramps rehab and reconstruction project.