Los Lunas begins construction on new I-25 interchange, corridor project
Construction has started on Los Lunas' new I-25 corridor, a project meant to ease NM 6 congestion and add a second Rio Grande crossing for village and county traffic.
Construction has begun on Los Lunas' long-planned I-25 Second Interchange and East-West Corridor, which will relieve pressure on NM 6/Main Street, add a new Rio Grande crossing and improve access on the east side of town.
NM 6 remains the only Interstate exit for Los Lunas and the only place village and county residents can cross the Rio Grande. Roughly 40% of the vehicles on NM 6 do not stop in Los Lunas, a traffic pattern that has pushed the village to spend several million dollars over the last decade on about eight related road projects.
The new corridor is planned to run from I-25 to Highway 47 and include a full interchange at Morris Road, a bridge over the Rio Grande and intersections at Sichler Road, Highway 314, Edeal Road and Highway 47. Phase one is fully funded and will include a full-width interchange, the river bridge, one lane in each direction and a multi-use pedestrian and bicycle path. Phase two would add another lane in each direction.
Funding for phase one includes more than $53 million from the 2021 New Mexico State Bond Project, $25 million from an INFRA grant and a $5 million village share. New Mexico lawmakers also approved an $85 million appropriation in House Bill 286 for the east-west corridor transportation infrastructure project in Valencia County for fiscal years 2025 through 2027, covering rights-of-way, planning, design and construction and helping match federal and state dollars.
The project has been in the works since 2001 and drew about 250 people to a village public hearing on May 29, 2024. A federal permitting dashboard listed environmental review and permitting as in progress in May 2024, with a completion estimate of July 11, 2024, before the village moved ahead with construction awards in 2025.
The village awarded phase one to El Terrero Construction on May 2, 2025, and selected Molzen Corbin Engineering on April 24, 2025 for construction-phase services. Groundbreaking is slated for August 2025.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the project is about “public safety and economic development,” while Mayor Charles Griego called it a historic milestone and said it is about “building opportunity.”
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