Interstate 25 North - Sandoval County

Interstate 25 passes east of Pueblo of Sandia Village along the foothills of the Sandia Mountains.

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NM 473 (Avenida Bernalillo) provides the south entrance to the town of Bernalillo from Interstate 25 at Exit 240.

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Started in August 2009, the first of two phases widening Interstate 25 north from Albuquerque to Bernalillo extended 5.5 miles to the trumpet interchange (Exit 240) with NM 473.¹

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Exit 240 departs I-25 north for NM 473 (Avenida Bernalillo), a 0.55 mile long link with NM 313 (Camino Del Pueblo). NM 313 through Bernalillo is also Historic U.S. 66.

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Leaving Sandia Pueblo, I-25 advances to a single point urban interchange (Exit 242) with U.S. 550 north and NM 165 east.

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The $14.6 million second phase of the I-25 expansion project between NM 556 and U.S. 550 was completed with a ribbon cutting ceremony held on August 19, 2011.¹ Widening of the 2.5 mile section preceded rebuilding the exchange with U.S. 550 into a SPUI. Costing $19 million, that work started on March 11, 2013. Scheduled for completion by November 6, 2013, work did not wrap up until late July 2014.²

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NM 165 loops 16.75 miles east from I-25 and U.S. 550 to Placitas and south to NM 536 through Cibola National Forest. NM 165 was designated in place of NM 44 in 1985.³Replacing NM 44 and NM 544 in 2000, U.S. 550 angles northwest from Bernalillo and Rio Rancho to Farmington.⁴

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U.S. 550 travels overall between Bernalillo and Montrose, Colorado. Crossing the Rio Grande to the west, U.S. 550 passes by Coronado Historic Site. Home to ruins from the pueblo of Kuaua, visitors to the site will find early native American Indian murals, prehistoric colonial artifacts and reconstructed ruins over the reburied pueblo.

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Continuing north from Exit 242 through the outskirts of Bernalillo on Interstate 25.

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Las Vegas (102 miles) and Raton (208 miles) debut on I-25 northbound distance signage, 39 miles south of the capital city.

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Interstate 25 leaves Bernalillo and enters the Santa Ana Indian Reservation.

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Approaching the diamond interchange with NM 315 at Exit 248. NM 315 is a 0.48 mile long collector joining I-25 with NM 313 (former U.S. 66 and U.S. 85) and East Frontage Road (FR 2083).

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The lone guide sign for Exit 248 stands beyond East Frontage Road, well away from the gore point for NM 315. Algodones is an unincorporated community along NM 313 and the Rio Grande.

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Interstate 25 advances north into San Felipe Pueblo with a 75 mph speed limit.

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NM 313 (El Camino Real) concludes on the north side of Interstate 25 ahead of the diamond interchange (Exit 252) with Hagan Road. Historic U.S. 66/85 turns northward along Main Street into San Felipe Pueblo.

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Hagan Road parallels the dry Arroyo Tonque northwest from Exit 252 to Main Street / El Camino Real at in San Felipe Pueblo.

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Descending into the Arroyo Tonque valley, Interstate 25 reaches Exit 252 for Hagan Road (FL 1628) and Black Mesa Casino. Hagan Road continues along the dry creek southeast through open desert in San Felipe Pueblo.

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Interstate 25 rises 100 feet from Arroyo Tongue to Arroyo de la Vega de los Tanos over the succeeding mile from Exit 252.

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Turning northeast, Interstate 25 next travels through Santo Domingo Pueblo on the 30 mile drive to Santa Fe.

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Leaving San Felipe Pueblo along Interstate 25 northbound.

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Exit 257 joins I-25 with the settlement of Budaghers at a diamond interchange. The place was named after Joseph and Sally Budagher, the founders of the original 1950s trading post here.⁵ Located at Budaghers is the Mormon Battalion Monument, a 25-foot cast stone monument adorned with a bronze wagon wheel.

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Placer Mountain (el. 8,897 ft) rises to the southeast within the distant Ortiz Mountains.

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The Budaghers exit connects with the I-25 frontage road system (FR 2086 / 2087) in an otherwise isolated area. A former outlet mall stands along West Frontage Road. Constructed in 1993, the mall went out of business and was reopened in 2000 as a cultural center. It was subsequently abandoned.⁵

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NM 22 travels north from Interstate 25 and Exit 259 to Kewa Pueblo in the Rio Grande valley.

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Interstate 25 reassurance shield posted ahead of the diamond interchange (Exit 259) with NM 22.

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Exit 259 departs I-25 north for NM 22 north to Kewa Pueblo (formerly Santo Domingo), Cochiti Lake Recreation Area and Cochiti. County Road 52A (FL 1621) leads south from the exchange 7.47 miles to NM 14.

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Interstate 25 crests around 5,600 feet above sea level in Kewa Pueblo.

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NM 16 ties into Interstate 25 four miles ahead from Cochiti Pueblo to the northwest. Santa Fe follows in 23 miles.

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Interstate 25 pushes northeastward into the Rio Galisteo valley west of Tom Payne Gulch and the Cerrillos Hills.

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Just north of Rio Galisteo, Interstate 25 and parallel NM 16 cross into Santa Fe County.

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