Interstate_25_(New_Mexico)

Interstate 25 in New Mexico

Interstate 25 in New Mexico

Section of Interstate Highway in New Mexico, United States

Interstate 25 (I-25) in the US state of New Mexico follows the north–south corridor through Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It replaced U.S. Route 85 (US 85), which is no longer signed, but still exists in route logs sharing most of the I-25 alignment. I-25 starts in New Mexico at an interchange with I-10 in Las Cruces and extends roughly 460 miles (740 km) before reaching Colorado. I-25 passes through principally rural land through central New Mexico and passes through or near the cities of Las Cruces, Truth or Consequences, Socorro, Belen, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Vegas, and Raton.

This article is about the section of Interstate 25 in New Mexico. For the entire route, see Interstate 25.
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Route description

I-25 begins at I-10's exit 144 in Las Cruces (elevation 4,000 feet (1,200 m)),[3] just south of the New Mexico State University (NMSU) campus. I-25 is concurrent with US 85 at this point, and carries US 85 concurrently for the remainder of its run in New Mexico, save for a 4-mile (6.4 km) through Las Vegas where unsigned US 85 follows Interstate 25 Business (I-25 Bus., Business Loop 15) through the town. Immediately, the Interstate passes east of the NMSU campus, and the next three exits provide access to the city. The first exit is University Avenue, which provides access to NMSU. The final exit in Las Cruces is US 70.[4] Upon exiting the city, the speed limit increases by 10 mph (16 km/h) to 75 mph (121 km/h). Before I-25 reaches Truth or Consequences and just south of Elephant Butte Reservoir State Park, it crosses over to the west side of the Rio Grande.[5] From Las Cruces to Santa Fe I-25 follows the route of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.[6]

At the Big I in Albuquerque, New Mexico

South of Albuquerque near Socorro, it passes through the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.[7] As I-25 nears Albuquerque, it has interchanges with roads such as US 380 and a concurrency with US 60.[8] State Road 6 (NM 6), the original US 66, meets up with I-25 in Los Lunas.[9] Just to the south of Albuquerque, I-25 enters Isleta Pueblo where it crosses back to the east side of the Rio Grande.[10]

I-25 in Albuquerque

The speed limit on I-25 in Albuquerque is 65 mph (105 km/h), except for one 1.5-mile (2.4 km) 55-mile-per-hour (89 km/h) section between Gibson Boulevard and Central Avenue. Through Albuquerque, I-25 is named the Pan American Freeway and there are frequent exits to city streets.[11][12]: 248  A major interchange with I-40 (which is styled as the Coronado Freeway in the city) is named the Big I.[12]: 248 [13] It was given an honorable mention by the United States Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration for excellence in urban highway design in 2002.[14]

Approaching Santa Fe, New Mexico, at sunset. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains, with snow, are in the background.
Sunset on I-25 at Santa Fe

Leaving Albuquerque, the 75-mile-per-hour (121 km/h) speed limit resumes as the freeway passes through Sandia Pueblo. After Bernalillo, I-25 passes through four more Indian Reservations (from south to north: the Pueblos of Santa Ana, San Felipe, Kewa, and Cochiti). I-25 turns to the northeast and away from the Rio Grande, alongside which it has run from its southern terminus, as it heads toward Santa Fe.[15] It climbs out of the Rio Grande Valley at a steep hill called La Bajada 11 miles (18 km) southwest of Santa Fe.[16]

Continuing 'northbound' at Santa Fe, I-25 heads southeast for approximately 45 miles (72 km), traveling through the Santa Fe National Forest and crossing Glorieta Pass (7,452 feet (2,271 m)).[17] It turns north again at Blanchard toward Las Vegas.[18] The highway maintains a north and northeast orientation as it leaves New Mexico traversing Raton Pass (7,798 feet (2,377 m)[19]) and enters Colorado. The speed limit through Raton Pass is 65 mph (105 km/h). From Santa Fe to Raton Pass, I-25 approximates part of the route of the Santa Fe Trail.[20] I-25 is 462.124 miles (743.716 km) long in New Mexico.[1]

Exit list

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Main article: Business routes of Interstate 25

I-25 in New Mexico currently has no auxiliary Interstates but it has six active business routes. The active business routes are located in Williamsburg–Truth or Consequences, Socorro, Belen, Las Vegas, Springer, and Raton. There was one other business route that was located in Santa Fe but was decommissioned.

References

  1. [1]
    "Interstate Highways" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 23, 2011. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
  2. [2]
    American Association of State Highway Officials (August 14, 1957). Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway Officials. Retrieved June 16, 2011 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  3. [3]
    Google (July 7, 2007). "I-25 at I-10" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  4. [4]
    Google (July 7, 2007). "I-25 in Las Cruces" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  5. [5]
    Google (July 7, 2007). "I-25 parallels Elephant Butte Reservoir State Park" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  6. [6]
    Wilkerson, Lyn (2003). American Trails Revisited: Following in the Footsteps of the Western Pioneers. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse. p. 154. ISBN 0595282628. Retrieved February 13, 2013 – via Google Books.
  7. [7]
    Google (April 13, 2013). "I-25 near Socorro" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  8. [8]
    Google (July 7, 2007). "I-25 near Albuquerque" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  9. [9]
    Google (July 7, 2007). "I-25 at SR 6" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  10. [10]
    Google (April 13, 2013). "I-25 near Isleta" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  11. [11]
    Google (July 7, 2007). "I-25 exits in Albuquerque" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  12. [12]
    Bryan, Howard (1989). Albuquerque Remembered. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0826337821. OCLC 62109913. Retrieved February 13, 2013 – via Google Books.
  13. [13]
    Google (July 7, 2007). "I-25 at I-40" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  14. [14]
    "I-25/I-40 System-to-System Interchange". Excellence in highway design. Federal Highway Administration. 2002. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  15. [15]
    Google (July 7, 2007). "I-25 nearing Santa Fe" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  16. [16]
    Julyan, Robert (1998). The Place Names of New Mexico (2nd ed.). University of New Mexico Press. Archived from the original on May 27, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2013. La Bajada hill is located 11 miles [18 km] southwest of Santa Fe. From 1598, when Spanish colonists trudged beside lumbering oxcarts, to the early 20th century, when American tourists drove Model A automobiles, the steep and abrupt escarpment of La Bajada Hill was a notorious landmark on the road between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The old route up La Bajada Hill was barely 1.5 miles [2.4 km] long, but it traversed tough volcanic rock; in the 20th century it included 23 hairpin turns and was the scene of countless frustrations and mishaps, from overturned wagons to boiling radiators. Residents of the village of La Bajada (see entry) at the hill's base named a spot on the hill Florida because a truck carrying oranges overturned there. In 1932, a new route up the escarpment was laid out, followed today by I-25, and the original route, 5 mi [8.0 km] N and W, fell into disuse, though a few drivers still attempt it to test their vehicles' toughness. The name La Bajada now is gradually being transferred to the new route.
  17. [17]
    "Glorieta Pass". Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway. The Santa Fe Trail Scenic Byway Profile. Archived from the original on December 6, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  18. [18]
    Google (July 7, 2007). "I-25 near Las Vegas" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  19. [19]
    "Raton Pass". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2007.
  20. [20]
    Glassman, Steve (2008). It Happened on the Santa Fe Trail. Morris Publishing. p. ix. ISBN 978-0762745739. Retrieved February 13, 2013 – via Google Books.
  21. [21]
    http://dot.state.nm.us/content/dam/nmdot/Travel_conditions/maps/SW_V9_2_ELEV_RB_2007.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  22. [22]
    [Special Project: Los Lunas Blvd. Corridor Phase I, Village of Los Lunas, accessed April 29, 2024]
Interstate 25
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