El Cerro residents rally against proposed Los Lunas highway extension

More than 160 El Cerro residents gathered in an alfalfa field and turned a neighborhood meeting into a coordinated push against a proposed four-lane highway extension they say could change daily life on Valencia County’s east side. The road would carry Los Lunas Boulevard east toward Manzano Expressway, cutting through an area where families still expect open space, low traffic and room for horses, trees and backyards.

The fight sharpened after county commissioners on Feb. 18 unanimously narrowed 12 possible routes to alternatives 6, 7 and 12. At the April 15 commission meeting, more than 60 people filled the chamber to press officials to reconsider the project before it advances farther in the county’s planning process.

That process is still early. Valencia County staff has worked with Albuquerque engineering firm Molzen Corbin on the eastside extension study since October 2023, and the project remains in the A/B phase. Public input has not yet been scheduled. County grant manager Jeremias Silva said the feasibility study would continue through the end of 2027, and the road itself could still be about a decade away.

Even so, the route choices already point to substantial neighborhood impacts. County study materials show Alternative 6 would run 3.15 miles, crossing 68 parcels, 16 structures or homes and seven canals or irrigation ditches. Alternative 7 would run 3.06 miles and cross 63 parcels, 17 structures or homes and seven canals or irrigation ditches. Alternative 12 would run 3.34 miles, crossing 69 parcels, seven structures or homes and nine canals or irrigation ditches. Other options considered in the study would have crossed as many as 115 parcels and 24 homes.

Neighbors say those numbers only tell part of the story. Stan Jordon told commissioners the road could take two-thirds of his backyard, a warning that the corridor could redraw property lines as well as the county’s growth pattern. Residents have formed task groups to research the road, collect public records and expand their outreach as they try to keep pressure on county officials.

After a final alignment is chosen, the county expects environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act, followed by design work and only later right-of-way acquisition, which would begin once the project reaches about 30% design. For El Cerro residents, that makes the current stage crucial: this is the point when county leaders can still alter the route before the project becomes harder to undo.

The eastside fight also sits beside a much larger transportation push on the west side. The Village of Los Lunas said in May 2025 that groundbreaking for the Los Lunas Boulevard Corridor Project was anticipated for August 2025 and described it as the largest local-led infrastructure effort in New Mexico history. Village plans call for a new Interstate 25 interchange, a four-lane bridge over the Rio Grande and roadway connections from I-25 to N.M. 47. County officials see the eastside extension as one way to avoid a future traffic pinch point at that N.M. 47 endpoint, but for El Cerro, the road now stands as a direct threat to the rural character that drew many families there in the first place.