By Jimmy Currier
Observer staff writer

Rio Rancho city officials have talked for months about the importance of extending Paseo del Volcan from Iris Road to US 550.

Wednesday night, the city council approved a resolution to accept federal money to complete the project.

Councilors Mike Williams, Patty Thomas, Steve Shaw, Larry Naranjo and Kathy Colley voted to accept the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Agreement with the New Mexico Department of Transportation. The city will receive $14 million to construct the road. District 3 councilor Delma Petrullo was absent.

City Manager James Jimenez said the city staff is preparing bidding documents.

"We hope to get them out on the street within the next couple of weeks," he said. "We've been waiting for some paperwork and now we got the paper work taken care of and its time to move the project along."

He said the bid process will take 30 to 45 days and after the bid is awarded, the project should be completed in 18 months. The project is estimated to cost more than $28 million.

In addition to the $14 million in stimulus funds, the city is using an $11.1 million grant from the New Mexico Department of Transportation to fund the project. The city is adding $2.9 million to the state grant to match the federal funds. 

City officials say the extension of Paseo del Volcan is a priority because it will create new access to Rio Rancho's City Center.

Currently, 3.9 miles of Paseo del Volcan is already in place between Unser and Iris boulevards.

For more information about the extension of Paseo del Volcan, visit the city of Rio Rancho's Web site at ci.rio-rancho.nm.us/PDVExtension.