Road work to begin on Bridge Boulevard

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Construction will be part of a major five-phase plan to redevelop Bridge Boulevard from Coors all the way to 8th Street, according to Bernalillo County.

Richard Calderon is one of the barbers at Urban Kings Barber Shop. The shop sits right off Bridge Boulevard in the South Valley.

“It’ll be nice because I see some of the roads are pretty bad and some of the sidewalks too not the best either so it’ll be good and hopefully it will run smoother after they’re done,” Richard said.

Phase two stretches the half mile from Young Avenue to the Riverside Drain, according to the county, and focuses on redoing sidewalks, medians, bike lanes and drains.

It will also focus on repaving the road to make it a more pedestrian and traffic-friendly area, and since the barber shop is right in the middle, Richard sees this as a glass-half-full situation.

“Traffic’s going to be going slow so they’ll all see us,” he said.

He’s hoping it’ll generate more business, but because Bridge is so busy, Richard expects some issues.

“As far as like trying to park and everything it’s going to be tough just because you’re going to have to make U-turns and everything else,” he said.

According to the county, it will be giving business owners the heads up a few days in advance before business access is blocked, but Richard he’s not too worried.

“Hopefully they’ll come in, get a haircut we’ve got some of the best barbers in town, so it’ll be nice,” he said.

For a more in-depth look at the project, click here.