Commission Green Lights Frost Road Trail Project

After a decade of planning, master plans, and pandemic-era delays, a critical gap in the East Mountain trail network is finally closing. On Thursday, Dec. 11, the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a $1.6 million contract to construct the long-awaited Frost Road Trail extension.

The decision marks the final green light for a project that has been in the works since 2015. The contract was awarded to Compass, a construction firm tasked with building a 1.8-mile multi-use trail connecting Candy Court to Vallecitos Road.

District 5 Commission Chair Eric Olivas championed the approval, calling it a “huge win for the East Mountain community.”

“This project is about more than just recreation,” Olivas noted. “It represents a vital investment to increase pedestrian and bicycle safety in a corridor that has desperately needed it.”

From “Vision” to Concrete

For residents of the East Mountains, Frost Road has long been a point of friction. As subdivisions expanded, the rural road—characterized by narrow shoulders, open drainage ditches, and fast-moving traffic—became a high-risk environment for pedestrians and cyclists.

The new infrastructure is designed to solve that problem. The project specifications call for an 8-foot-wide paved trail separated from the roadway. To handle the rugged terrain and frequent flash flood risks of the region, the construction will include extensive grading and the installation of three pre-manufactured pedestrian bridges over existing arroyos.

A Long Road to Funding

The project’s history reveals why rural infrastructure can take years to materialize. Originally conceptualized in the county’s 2015 Parks, Recreation & Open Space Master Plan, the trail faced a complex journey.

While the county successfully repaved existing sections of the trail in 2019 under a “fix-it-first” policy, the extension project stalled during the “gap years” of 2020 to 2024. Administrative disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with difficult right-of-way negotiations with private landowners, kept the blueprints on the shelf.

The breakthrough came via the ballot box. The project is being funded through General Obligation (GO) bonds, specifically leveraging funds approved by voters in the 2024 election cycle. These bonds allowed the county to “unlock” the necessary capital to move from design to construction.

Connecting the “Hubs”

The Frost Road Trail is viewed by planners not as an isolated path, but as a key artery in a larger regional network. Advocacy groups like the East Mountain Regional Trails Council have long pushed for a “Hub” model, where trails link residential clusters to major recreational areas.

Once finished, this trail will serve as a spine connecting the dense residential areas along Frost Road to future recreational hubs at the Sedillo Ridge and San Pedro Open Spaces.

Timeline for Completion

Residents will see activity soon, but patience will still be required. The contract stipulates a construction window of roughly 330 days. Due to the high altitude and winter weather conditions of the East Mountains, construction is expected to pause or slow during the coldest months.

County officials estimate the project will reach completion by the Spring of 2027.