Sunport Blvd. Extension – I-25 to Broadway
Albuquerque
Merit Award
Sent by: Bohannan Huston
Owner: Bernalillo County
Main design/structure company: Bohannan Huston Inc.
General contractor: AUI Inc.
Civil Engineer: Molzen Corbin
Geotechnics: Terracon
This long-awaited $26.5 million expansion of Sunport Boulevard bridges Albuquerque’s local transportation network and promotes safer and more efficient movement of people, goods and services near the Albuquerque International Sunport. Portions of the new roadway were elevated using mechanically stabilized earth walls, minimizing the need for extensive fill slopes. The four-lane divided roadway includes twin single-span bridges crossing Edmunds Street and a bicycle and pedestrian lane protected from traffic. The scope included a three-span bridge over the South Diversion Channel, which required two cranes and a load triangle with Kevlar straps, which allowed one crane to pass a beam to the second crane while suspended overhead.
Contractors introduced cost-saving measures such as shortening bridge spans to allow for different beams, repositioning concrete barriers to remove slabs for now, and repositioning retaining walls. Stormwater now flows into water quality basins, where impermeable liners mitigate seepage. The project was delivered on budget and on schedule in June 2023.
