Makeover to redo Bernalillo-I-25 entry

Posted: 12:41 am

This rendering shows what the southwest view of the intersection of Avenida Bernalillo and the access road to Interstate 25 will look like when a planned landscaping project is complete. (Courtesy of the town of Bernalillo)

Bernalillos southern entry point from Interstate 25 is about to get a makeover that will replace mounds of earth with natural landscaping.

Town officials awarded a contract to Lee Landscapes on Dec. 23 to redo the corners of Avenida Bernalillo from the I-25 interchange to South Hill Road.

The intersection was reshaped a few years ago as part of a larger project to widen the freeway between the town and Albuquerque. That work left what Mayor Jack Torres calls an ugly berm.

Designed by landscape architect firm Morrow, Reardon, Wilkinson, Miller, the makeover will take advantage of the natural contours of the remnants of arroyos, using traditional building materials and native plants, said Maria Rinaldi, director of community planning and development.

It will include planting dozens of native trees and shrubs, spreading gravel and mulch, and installing lighting and irrigation, monument signs and concrete and adobe retaining walls.

Adobe work will be done by a crew from Bernalillos Youth Conservation Corps, a program that provides vocational and life skills to young people between 14 and 25 years old by teaching them traditional building skills.

Bernalillo received $275,591 in Federal Highway Administration funding toward the makeover and provided $68,898 in matching funds from gasoline tax revenue.

Rinaldi expects landscape work to start within a few weeks and last about three months. It is not expected to disrupt traffic flow, she said.

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Makeover to redo Bernalillo-I-25 entry