Transportation Albuquerque, New Mexico

1 transportation

1.1 main highways
1.2 bridges
1.3 rail
1.4 freight service
1.5 intercity rail
1.6 commuter rail
1.7 local mass transit
1.8 bicycle transit
1.9 walkability
1.10 airports

transportation
main highways

some of main highways in metro area include:

pan-american freeway: more commonly known interstate 25 or i-25 , main north–south highway on city s eastern side of rio grande. main north–south highway in state (by connecting albuquerque santa fe , las cruces) , plausible route of eponymous pan american highway. since route 66 decommissioned in 1980s, remaining highway in albuquerque, unsigned us-85, shares alignment i-25. us-550 splits off northwest i-25/us-85 in bernalillo.

aerial view of interstate 40



coronado freeway: more commonly known interstate 40 or i-40 , city s main east–west traffic artery , important transcontinental route. freeway s name in city in reference 16th century conquistador , explorer francisco vásquez de coronado.
paseo del norte: (aka; state highway 423): 6-lane controlled-access highway approximately 5 miles north of interstate 40. runs tramway blvd (at base of sandia mountains) interstate 25, through los ranchos de albuquerque, on rio grande river north coors boulevard. paseo del norte continues west through petroglyph national monument until reaches atrisco vista blvd , double eagle ii airport. interchange interstate 25 reconstructed in 2014 improve traffic flow.
coors boulevard: coors main north-south artery west of rio grande in albuquerque. there 1 full interchange connects interstate 40; rest of route has stoplights. interstate 25 underpass has no access coors. parts of highway have sidewalks, bike lanes, , medians, sections have dirt shoulders , center turn lane. north of interstate 40, part of route numbered state highway 448, while south, part of route numbered state highway 45.
rio bravo boulevard: main river crossing between westside albuquerque , sunport, rio bravo four-lane divided highway runs university boulevard in east, through south valley, coors boulevard in west contiguous dennis chaves blvd. follows nm-500 entire route.
central avenue: central 1 of historical routings of route 66, no longer main through highway, usefulness having been supplanted interstate 40.
alameda boulevard: main road between rio rancho , north albuquerque, alameda blvd. stretches tramway rd. coors. blvd. route designated eastern portion of nm-528.
tramway boulevard: serves bypass around northeastern quadrant, route designated nm-556. tramway boulevard starts @ i-25 near sandia pueblo, , heads east two-lane road. turns south near base of sandia peak tramway , becomes expressway-type divided highway until terminus near i-40 , central avenue western entrance tijeras canyon.

the interchange between i-40 , i-25 known big . built in 1966, rebuilt in 2002. big five-level stack interchange in state of new mexico.

bridges

there 6 road bridges cross rio grande , serve municipality on @ least 1 end if not both. eastern approaches of northernmost 3 pass through adjacent unincorporated areas, village of los ranchos de albuquerque, or north valley. in downstream order are:

alameda bridge
paseo del norte bridge
montaño bridge
i-40 bridge
central @ old town bridge
barelas bridge

two more bridges serve urbanized areas contiguous city s perforated southern boundary.

rio bravo bridge (nm-500)
i-25 bridge (near isleta pueblo)

rail

rail runner express downtown albuquerque station train platform

the state owns of city s rail infrastructure used commuter rail system, long distance passenger trains, , freight trains of bnsf railway.

freight service

bnsf railway operates small yard operation out of abajo yard, located south of cesar e. chavez ave. overpass , new mexico rail runner express yards. freight traffic through central new mexico region processed via larger hub in nearby belen, new mexico.

intercity rail

amtrak s southwest chief, travels between chicago , los angeles, serves albuquerque area daily 1 stop in each direction @ alvarado transportation center in downtown.

commuter rail

the new mexico rail runner express, commuter rail line, began service between sandoval county , albuquerque in july 2006 using existing bnsf right-of-way purchased new mexico in 2005. service expanded valencia county in december 2006 , santa fe on december 17, 2008. rail runner connects santa fe, sandoval, bernalillo, , valencia counties thirteen station stops, including 3 stops within albuquerque. trains connect albuquerque downtown santa fe 8 roundtrips per weekday. section of line running south belen served less frequently.

local mass transit

alvarado transportation center, intermodal transportation hub in downtown albuquerque

albuquerque 1 of 2 cities in new mexico have had electric street railways. albuquerque s horse-drawn streetcar lines electrified during first few years of 20th century. albuquerque traction company assumed operation of system in 1905. system grew maximum length of 6 miles (9.7 km) during next ten years connecting destinations such old town west , university of new mexico east town s urban center near former atchison, topeka & santa fe railway depot. albuquerque traction company failed financially in 1915 , vaguely named city electric company formed. despite traffic booms during first world war, , unaided lawsuits attempting force streetcar company pay paving, system failed later in 1927, leaving streetcar s motorettes unemployed.

today, alvarado station provides convenient access other parts of city via city bus system, abq ride. abq ride operates variety of bus routes, including rapid ride express bus service.

art logo

in 2006 city of albuquerque under mayorship of martin chavez had planned , attempted fast track development of modern streetcar project. funding us$270 million system not resolved many citizens vocally opposed project. city , transit department maintain policy commitment streetcar project. project run in southeast quadrant on central avenue , yale boulevard.

as of 2011, city working on study develop bus rapid transit system through central ave. corridor. corridor carried 44% of bus riders in abq ride system, making natural starting point enhanced service. in 2017, city moved forward plans, , began construction on albuquerque rapid transit, or art, including dedicated bus lanes between coors , louisiana boulevards.

bicycle transit

albuquerque has well-developed bicycle network. in , around city there trails, bike routes, , paths provide residents , visitors alternatives motorized travel. in 2009, city reviewed having major , coming bike scene in north america. same year, city of albuquerque opened first bicycle boulevard on silver avenue. there plans more investment in bikes , bike transit city, including bicycle lending programs, in coming years.

walkability

a 2011 study walk score ranked albuquerque below average @ 28th walkable of fifty largest u.s. cities.

airports

albuquerque international sunport

albuquerque served 2 airports, larger of albuquerque international sunport. located 3 miles (5 km) southeast of central business district of albuquerque. albuquerque international sunport served 5,888,811 passengers in 2009. double eagle ii airport other airport. used air ambulance, corporate flight, military flight, training flight, charter flight, , private flight facility.