1969 Albuquerque Beltway Proposal

[Revive 755]

^ Part of the map (hard to get the book to stay open).  I've added some labels in dark blue text.  Source is Albuquerque Development Plan Metropolitan Transportation/Development Network MetroNet Concept and Proposal, Albuquerque Planning Department, General Plan Division, September 1969.

The Beltway was planned mostly as a freeway; where the expressway grade sections would be was not specified.

Note in the bottom middle how the yet to be constructed part of I-25 was to be shifted to the east instead of angling SW and then turning west to cross the Rio Grande. 

Figure 5 shows the proposed interchange with I-40 on the east side of town being a cloverleaf.

Judging from the routes shown as existing, expressway in this report seems to mean "large arterial street."  It also appears that Paseo Del Norte Blvd may have had its origins as part of this beltway proposal; the recommended beltway alignment turns west about where Paseo Del Norte is loctaed.

[J N Winkler]

Out of interest, where did you find your copy of this plan?

[Chris]

Albuquerque looks similar to Tucson; lack of freeways.

Interestingly, this plan is from an era where Albuquerque had only ~220,000 inhabitants. The city has been growing steady at 16% per decade since 1980.

[Revive 755]

Found it in the Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Library. 

I've posted something regarding most of the plans in the library; the most interesting ones I have not really spent a lot of time looking at are a plan for Amarillo (with a northern bypass that is now possibly TX 335 and a freeway on the east side of downtown filling the I-27 - US 287 gap), a very early "motorway" plan for Cincinnati, and hard copies of the many mid 1960's and later Chicago plans.

[Brandon]

Found it in the Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Library. 

Keep digging, it's a nice find.  You seem to find some very interesting stuff in there.

[Stephane Dumas]

Albuquerque looks similar to Tucson; lack of freeways.

Interestingly, this plan is from an era where Albuquerque had only ~220,000 inhabitants. The city has been growing steady at 16% per decade since 1980.

+1 and to a latter extent, Toronto, who got a big missing gap between Hwy 401 and the east end of the Gardiner expressway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancelled_expressways_in_Toronto

Austin, Texas did lots of caught-up time, by converting US-183/Research Blvd, gaps of TX-71/Ben White Blvd into freeways and the construction of tollways like TX-45 and TX-130