Neighbors worry about traffic due to Sunport Boulevard extension

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Earlier this week, city and county leaders came together to celebrate the completion of the Sunport Boulevard extension.

Officials said that travel was up 13% last year and this new route is supposed to get more folks to the airport faster, but not everyone who lives in the historic area is on board with all the change.

“Already we noticed the traffic on 2nd St. between Woodward and Rio Bravo during commute times in the afternoons it is backed up from Rio Bravo all the way to Woodward,” said Cipriano Lucero, a concerned resident in the San Jose neighborhood.

County officials are also optimistic about the potential for new development in the area.

“This is more access to an area, which will really bring different kinds of development. And this is where we’re gonna grow in district two,” said Steven Michael Quezada, the Bernalillo County Commissioner for District 2.

“We already have so many businesses in the area that really cause a lot of pollution. We have cement plants, recycling plants, that cause a lot of dust in the areas. Those particulars have a lot of chemicals in them,” said Lucero.

Lucero said the extension is just the latest in all of the changes that have happened over the years near his childhood home, and he is apprehensive about the big plans ahead.

“There is a lot of space to put in businesses but what kind of businesses are they going to put? I keep saying pollution but are they going to bring more things that have a negative impact on the neighborhood,” he said.

The longtime resident of the area said there is one business he could see making a positive impact on the neighborhood.

“We have no grocery stores in the area, there are a lot of people here that walk up to the corner of Broadway and Gibson and use one of the convenience stores there for their groceries,” he said.