Interstate 40 in New Mexico

Interstate 40 (I-40), a major east–west route of the Interstate Highway System, runs east–west through Albuquerque in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the direct replacement for the historic U.S. Highway 66 (US 66).

Interstate 40
I-40 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NMDOT
Length	373.530 mi[1] (601.138 km)
Existed	1957[2]–present
Major junctions
West end	I-40 at the Arizona state line
	US 491 in Gallup I-25 / US 85 in Albuquerque US 285 near Clines Corners US 54 / US 84 in Santa Rosa US 54 in Tucumcari
East end	I-40 at the Texas state line
Location
Counties	McKinley, Cibola, Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Torrance, Guadalupe, Quay
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future State Roads in New Mexico Interstate U.S. State Scenic ← NM 39 → NM 41

Route description

Arizona to Albuquerque

Aerial view, from the north, of Interstate 40 in western New Mexico between Grants and Albuquerque, with Laguna Pueblo, Mesita, and Rio San Jose, and tributaries Arroyo Conchas (left) and Rio Paguate (right, with Route 279)

Interstate 40 at Rio Puerco just west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with the Route 66 Casino by their intersection

As I-40 enters New Mexico in a northeasterly direction it begins following the basin of the intermittent Puerco River (Rio Puerco of the West, as opposed to the Rio Puerco of the East that it crosses near Albuquerque), roughly tracing the southern edge of the contiguous part of the Navajo Reservation in the state. The freeway enters Gallup twenty miles (32 km) later paralleling the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway's southern transcontinental mainline. Leaving Gallup the now more easterly I-40 passes to the north of Fort Wingate and part of the fragmented Cibola National Forest before crossing the North American continental divide at an elevation of 7,275 ft (2,217 m), with 11,305 ft (3,446 m) stratovolcano Mt. Taylor towering to the east.

The highway traverses more of the Navajo Reservation and the Cibola Forest before turning southeast and crossing a malpaís. After serving interchanges near Grants, the freeway, coinciding with the northern boundary of El Malpais National Monument, crosses another malpaís, turns east and enters the Acoma Indian Reservation, home of the Acoma Pueblo. The route leaves the Acoma Indian Reservation with Mt. Taylor to the north and enters the Laguna Pueblo. Near the interchange with New Mexico State Road 6 (NM 6) the railway line that accompanies much of the route from the Arizona border diverts to the south while the freeway turns east by northeast towards Albuquerque. The route departs the Laguna Pueblo, briefly transits the Tohajiilee Indian Reservation (a chapter of the Navajo Nation), crosses the Rio Puerco and begins a steep climb to the top of a mesa marked by several small cinder cones overlooking the Rio Grande rift and Albuquerque.

From Laguna to the Route 66 Casino, I-40 has at-grade intersections with a number of ranch access roads in violation of Interstate Highway standards. These intersections are a vestige that remain from the conversion of US 66 to I-40 during the latter part of the 20th century.

Albuquerque Metro Area

Interstate 40 diverges from the former US 66 alignment (Central Avenue) at an interchange with Atrisco Vista Boulevard on the West Mesa that overlooks Albuquerque. I-40 descends Nine Mile Hill as it enters the city of Albuquerque, and intersects 98th Street, Unser Boulevard (NM 345) and Coors Boulevard (NM 45) before crossing the Rio Grande. The freeway then skirts the northern edge of downtown Albuquerque before intersecting Interstate 25 at a 5-level stack interchange (Big I). East of I-25, I-40 continues east, then turns southeast passing through Uptown before intersecting Old US 66 (now signed as NM 333/Central Avenue) at Tramway Boulevard (NM 556) as it leaves Albuquerque and enters Tijeras Canyon. This section of I-40 is also referred to as the Coronado Freeway.

Albuquerque to Texas

I-40 in eastern New Mexico

Club Cafe sign near Santa Rosa, exit 273 (1987 photo)

East of Albuquerque, Interstate 40 crosses the Sandia–Manzano Mountains by traversing Tijeras Pass, reaching its highest point of 7,200 feet at Sedillo Ridge. Continuing east, I-40 descends out of the mountains and into the Estancia Valley while passing through the town of Edgewood (m.m. 187). The highway continues east across the Estancia Valley, passing through Moriarty (m.m. 194). Before reaching Clines Corners, I-40 ascends into the Pedrenal Hills, a region of hills and low-level ridgelines averaging around 7,000 feet in elevation. East of Clines Corners,( m.m. 217) I-40 gradually descends from the Pedrenal Hills region and into the High Plains of eastern New Mexico. At Santa Rosa (m.m. 273) I-40 crosses the Pecos River, and then continues east-northwastward co-signed with US 54 to Tucumcari. At Tucumcari, I-40 diverges from US 54 and turns eastward and skirts the northern edge of San Jon before reaching the Texas state line at Glenrio.

History

Planning and construction of Interstate 40 through New Mexico began shortly after the Federal Highway Act of 1956 created the Interstate Highway System. First sections of I-40 through the state were completed by 1960 including a short section west of Tucumcari in Quay County, from a point just west of Santa Rosa west past Clines Corners to just east of Moriarty, along with a section on the east side of Albuquerque and another section from near Cubero to Grants, which included a new spur route connecting the Interstate Highway with U.S. 66 on that city's east side. Construction of I-40, generally paralleling the existing U.S. 66 in some sections and replacing the older route in others, was hobbled for a few years during this decade by the New Mexico Legislature's passage of an Anti-Bypassing Law that prohibited the construction of an interstate bypass around a city or town opposed to it. That law was repealed in 1966 following a threat of loss of federal funds and most New Mexico cities along I-40, I-25 and I-10 then worked out agreements with state and federal highway officials in determining where the bypass routes around their municipalities should be located.

By the end of the 1960s, most rural sections of I-40 were completed across the state with the largest exception being a 40-mile (64 km) stretch east of Tucumcari to the Texas border at Glenrio, where traffic was diverted to the old U.S. 66. That section of highway by this time became locally and nationally known as "Slaughter Lane" due to tremendous amounts of traffic for a two-lane highway along with rough and narrow paving which led to numerous injury and fatal traffic accidents that reached epidemic numbers in 1968 and 1969.[3] Construction on this section of I-40 was held up by a dispute at San Jon concerning a proposed routing of I-40 bypassing that city to the north by some five miles (8 km), which was resolved in November 1969 when federal and state officials agreed to bring the bypass closer to the city along its northern limits. However, aside from a few small villages such as Montoya, Newkirk and Cuervo in the eastern portion of the state and Laguna, Budville and Cubero to the west, no major bypasses had been entirely completed in New Mexico so traffic was still diverted over the U.S. 66 routes through each of those cities.

In 1970, I-40 was entirely completed through the city of Albuquerque. Other bypasses were completed around various cities through the state including San Jon (1976)[4] and Tucumcari (1981),[4] Santa Rosa (1972), Moriarty (1973), Grants (1974) and Gallup (1980).[5]

Exit list

County	Location	mi[6]	km	Exit[7]	Destinations	Notes
McKinley	​	0.00	0.00		I-40 west – Flagstaff	Continuation into Arizona
	​	8.36	13.45	8	NM 118 – Defiance, Manuelito
	Gallup	16.36	26.33	16	NM 118 – Gallup	Western terminus of former I-40 Bus.
		20.73	33.36	20	US 491 north / NM 602 south (Muñoz Boulevard) – Shiprock, Zuni	US 491/NM 602 not signed westbound; westbound entrance includes direct entrance ramp from Maloney Avenue; former US 666
		22.66	36.47	22	Miyamura Drive / Montoya Boulevard
		25.83	41.57	26	NM 118 – Gallup	Eastern terminus of former I-40 Bus.
	McGaffey	33.52	53.95	33	NM 400 – McGaffey
	Iyanbito	36.67	59.01	36	NM 118 west – Iyanbito	Eastern terminus of NM 118
	​	39.75	63.97	39	Refinery
	Coolidge	44.51	71.63	44	Coolidge
	​	47.81	76.94	47	NM 122 east – Continental Divide	Western terminus of NM 122
	Thoreau	53.17	85.57	53	NM 371 / NM 612 – Thoreau
	Prewitt	63.18	101.68	63	NM 412 – Prewitt
Cibola	Bluewater Village	72.05	115.95	72	NM 606 – Bluewater Village
	Milan	78.93	127.03	79	NM 122 to NM 605 – Milan, San Mateo	Western terminus of former I-40 Bus.; access to NM 122 via Horizon Boulevard
	Grants	81.71	131.50	81	NM 53 to NM 122 – San Rafael, Grants	Signed as exits 81A (south) and 81B (north) eastbound
		84.95	136.71	85	NM 122 west to NM 547 – Grants, Mount Taylor	Eastern terminus of NM 122, eastern terminus of former I-40 Bus.
	​	89.26	143.65	89	NM 117 – Quemado
	​	96.33	155.03	96	McCartys, Acoma, Sky City	NM 124 not signed; former US 66
	San Fidel	99.86	160.71	100	San Fidel
	​	101.69	163.65	102	Acomita, Acoma, Sky City
	​	104.60	168.34	104	Cubero, Budville, Seama
	​	107.74	173.39	108	Casa Blanca, Paraje
	Laguna	113.99	183.45	114	NM 124 west – Laguna	Eastern terminus of NM 124; former US 66
	​	117.47	189.05	117	Mesita
	​	126.53	203.63	126	NM 6 east – Los Lunas
	Cañoncito	130.98	210.79	131	To'hajiilee
Bernalillo	​	140.05	225.39	140	Rio Puerco
	​	149.25	240.19	149	Atrisco Vista Boulevard	Former NM 500
	Albuquerque	151.98	244.59	153	98th Street / Arroyo Vista Blvd
		153.10	246.39	154	NM 345 (Unser Boulevard)
		154.76	249.06	155	NM 45 (Coors Boulevard)
		156.67	252.14	157A	Rio Grande Boulevard
		157.39	253.29	157B	12th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; westbound access via exit 158
		157.85	254.03	158	8th Street / 6th Street	No westbound entrance
		158.02	254.31	159A	4th Street / 2nd Street / University Boulevard	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		159.05	255.97	159B-C	I-25 / US 85 (Pan American Freeway) – Las Cruces, Santa Fe	Signed as exits 159B (south) and 159C (north); I-25 exits 226A-B; serves Albuquerque International Sunport and Presbyterian Hospital
		159.38	256.50	159D	University Boulevard / 2nd Street / 4th Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; serves University of New Mexico Hospital
		160.50	258.30	160	Carlisle Boulevard
		161.46	259.84	161	San Mateo Boulevard
		162.62	261.71	162	Louisiana Boulevard
		163.75	263.53	164	Wyoming Boulevard
		164.19	264.24		Lomas Boulevard	Former westbound exit and eastbound entrance from eastbound Lomas Boulevard; replaced by completion of Wyoming Boulevard interchange
		164.90	265.38	165	Eubank Boulevard
		165.97	267.10	166	Juan Tabo Boulevard
		167.10– 167.30	268.92– 269.24	167	NM 556 (Tramway Boulevard) / Historic US 66 (Central Avenue)	Historic US 66 (Central Ave.) not signed eastbound
	​	168.87	271.77	170	NM 333 – Carnuel
	​	173.90– 177.42	279.86– 285.53	175	NM 14 / NM 337 – Tijeras, Cedar Crest
	Zuzax	177.17	285.13	178	NM 333 – Zuzax
	Sedillo	181.04	291.36	181	To NM 217 – Sedillo
Santa Fe	Edgewood	186.73	300.51	187	NM 344 – Edgewood
Torrance	Moriarty	194.55	313.10	194	I-40 Bus. east / Historic US 66 – Moriarty
		195.93	315.32	196	NM 41 (Howard Cavasos Boulevard)
		197.33	317.57	197	I-40 Bus. west / Historic US 66 – Moriarty	No westbound entrance
	​	203.38	327.31	203	Longhorn Ranch	Exit does not sign this destination
	Wagon Wheel	208.39	335.37	208	Wagon Wheel
	Clines Corners	217.59	350.18	218A	Clines Corners	Former westbound exit only (closed and removed 2015)
				218	US 285 – Vaughn, Santa Fe, Roswell
	​	225.81	363.41	226	Palma	Exit does not sign this destination
	​	230.17	370.42	230	NM 3 – Encino, Villanueva
	​	233.71	376.12	234	Flying C	Exit does not sign this destination; westbound has two separate exits with the same number and destination
	​	238.69	384.13	239	McKenzie	Exit does not sign this destination
Guadalupe	​	242.83	390.80	243	Milagro	Exit does not sign this destination; signed as exits 243B and 243A westbound
	​	251.58	404.88	Eastbound Rest Stop
	​			Vaughn Route 66 Rest Stop; exit 252
	​	255.86	411.77	256	US 84 north / NM 219 south – Las Vegas, Pastura	Northern terminus of NM 219; western end of US 84 concurrency
	San Ignacio	262.83	422.98	263	San Ignacio
	Colonias	267.16	429.95	267	Colonias
	Santa Rosa	272.38	438.35	273	I-40 Bus. east (Historic US 66) – Santa Rosa	I-40 Bus. not signed westbound
		274.37	441.56	275	Santa Rosa (I-40 Bus. / US 54)
		276.19	444.48	277	I-40 Bus. west / US 54 south (Historic US 66) / US 84 south – Fort Sumner, Santa Rosa	Eastern end of US 84 concurrency; western end of US 54 concurrency; I-40 Bus./US 54 not signed eastbound
	​	283.96	456.99	284	Frontier Museum
	Cuervo	290.61– 291.21	467.69– 468.66	291	Cuervo
	Newkirk	299.27	481.63	300	NM 129 – Newkirk
Quay	Montoya	310.72	500.06	311	Montoya
	Palomas	321.13	516.81	321	Palomas
	Tucumcari	328.43	528.56	329	I-40 Bus. / Historic US 66 east	Western terminus of I-40 Bus.
		330.30	531.57	331	Camino del Coronado
		331.45	533.42	332	NM 209 to NM 104 (1st Street)
		332.80	535.59	333	US 54 east (Mountain Road)	Eastern end of US 54 concurrency
		334.67	538.60	335	I-40 Bus. / Historic US 66 west
	​	337.81	543.65	339	NM 278
	​	343.13	552.21	343	Quay Road AD	Exit does not sign this road
	San Jon	355.25	571.72	356	NM 469 / Historic US 66 – San Jon
	Bard	360.35	579.93	361	Bard
	Endee	369.02	593.88	369	NM 93 south / NM 392 north – Endee
	Glenrio	372.52	599.51		I-40 east – Amarillo	Continuation into Texas
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Closed/former       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

1. "Interstate Routes" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 23, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
2. Public Roads Administration (August 14, 1957). Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, As Adopted by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Public Roads Administration. Retrieved June 16, 2011 – via Wikimedia Commons.
3. "Historic Route 66: The Mother Road" (PDF). County Star-News. Shamrock, TX. March 15, 2012. pp. E2–E8.
4. "Route 66 History Page". www.route66world.com.
5. Sonderman, Joe (2016). Route 66 Roadside Signs and Advertisements. Voyageur Press. p. 89.
6. New Mexico Department of Transportation (2007). Statewide Milepost/Point Map (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Santa Fe: New Mexico Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 22, 2013.
7. "TIMS Road Segments by Posted Route/Point with AADT Info: I-Routes" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Transportation. June 8, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2019.

External links

• Media related to Interstate 40 in New Mexico at Wikimedia Commons