Interstate 25

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"I-25" redirects here. For the submarine, see I-25 (submarine).
Interstate 25
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length: 1062.77 mi[1][2] (1710.36 km)
South end: I-10/US 180 near Las Cruces, NM
Major
junctions:		 I-40 in Albuquerque, NM
I-70 in Denver, CO
I-80 in Cheyenne, WY
North end: I-90/US 87 near Buffalo, WY
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Interstate 25 (abbreviated I-25) is an interstate highway in the western United States. Its odd number indicates that it is primarily a north-south highway. I-25 stretches from Interstate 10 at Las Cruces, New Mexico, to Interstate 90 in Buffalo, Wyoming.[3]

The route is the main north-south highway through Colorado, passing through Cheyenne, Wyoming, near Fort Collins, Colorado, through Denver, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo, Colorado, and over Raton Pass into New Mexico. The I-25 corridor in Colorado is heavily urbanized, passing just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. This stretch was recently involved in a massive renovation named T-REX[4] (TRansportation EXpansion) in Denver, and COSMIX [5] (Colorado Springs Metro Interstate Expansion). Major construction for T-REX ended August 22, 2006. COSMIX was completed in December of 2007. Several other smaller improvement projects for I-25 are still ongoing within Colorado.

Contents

[edit] Route description

Lengths
mi[1] km
NM 462.12 744.15
CO 299.70 482.61
WY 300.95 484.62
Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs

[edit] New Mexico

Main article: Interstate 25 in New Mexico

Interstate 25 begins at Interstate 10's exit 144 in Las Cruces.[6] Immediately, three exits provide access to the city, including one for U.S. Route 70.[7] After this, there are no major cities along the corridor until Albuquerque. However, when I-25 reaches Truth or Consequences, it is parallel to Elephant Butte Reservoir State Park.[8]

As I-25 nears Albuquerque, it has interchanges with roads such as U.S. Route 380 and a concurrency with U.S. 60.[9] Getting even closer, State Road 6, former U.S. Route 66, meets up with I-25 in Los Lunas.[10] Now getting even closer to Albuquerque, there are frequent exits to city streets,[11] along with a huge interchange with Interstate 40.[12] Named the Big I, 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.[13]

Leaving Albuquerque, I-25 starts to curve into an east–west orientation as it heads toward Santa Fe.[14] I-25 retains that orientation until Las Vegas, where it starts to revert back into its usual north–south orientation.[15] The highway stays this way as it leaves New Mexico and enters Colorado.

[edit] Colorado

Main article: Interstate 25 in Colorado
Rush hour on I-25 through downtown Denver
Rush hour on I-25 through downtown Denver

Interstate 25 has many nicknames though the state's larger cities. In Denver it is called the Valley Highway, the section in El Paso County is named the Ronald Reagan Highway, and through Pueblo it is named the John F Kennedy Highway.

I-25 enters Colorado 14 miles south of the city of Trinidad. It is the main north-south route through Colorado with a length of 300 miles. The Interstate exits Colorado in the north about 8 miles south of Cheyenne, Wyoming. I-25 serves all the major cities in Colorado east of the Rocky Mountains, such as Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and Fort Collins. Almost the entire way, from the north to the south, the Rocky Mountains are clearly visible.

There are also several military bases along the route, such as Cheyenne Mountain, Fort Carson and the Air Force Academy.

The section of I-25 between the northern border of Pueblo County, Colorado, and the New Mexico state line is named the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway", in honor of President Kennedy's support of water resource development in the Arkansas Valley.

[edit] Wyoming

Main article: Interstate 25 in Wyoming

I-25 enters Wyoming 8 miles south of the state capital, Cheyenne. After traveling through downtown, the interstate continues north to Douglas, Wyoming, passing many plateaus and train tracks. Commonly, very long trains can be seen slowly moving alongside the interstate. Around Douglas, the interstate curves to the west towards Casper. Once in downtown Casper, I-25 sharply turns north and continues to Buffalo, where it ends at an intersection with Interstate 90.

[edit] History

The section between Romeroville, New Mexico, and Los Lunas, New Mexico, closely follows the original alignment of U.S. Highway 66, which was later shortened and realigned to run straight west from Santa Rosa, now replaced with Interstate 40.

[edit] Major intersections

[edit] Auxiliary routes

v • d • e
Auxiliary routes of Interstate 25

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Route Log and Finder List - Interstate System - table 1. Federal Highway Administration (2002-10-31). Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  2. ^ Interstate 25 @ Interstate-Guide.com. Interstate Guide. Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
  3. ^ Overview Map of I-25. Google Maps. Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ COSMIX Project Home Page
  6. ^ I-25 at I-10. Google. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  7. ^ I-25 in Las Cruces. Google. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  8. ^ I-25 parallels Elephant Butte Reservoir State Park. Google. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  9. ^ I-25 near Albuquerque. Google. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  10. ^ I-25 at SR 6. Google. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  11. ^ I-25 exits in Albuquerque. Google. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  12. ^ I-25 at I-40. Google. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  13. ^ I-25/I-40 System-to-System Interchange. Excellence in highway design. Federal Highway Administration (2002). Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  14. ^ I-25 nearing Santa Fe. Google. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  15. ^ I-25 near Las Vegas. Google. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.

[edit] External links

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Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink)		 Interstate Highway marker
4 5 8 10 12 15 16 17 19 20 22 24 25 26 27 29 30
35 37 39 40 43 44 45 49 55 57 59 64 65 66 68 69
70 71 72 73 74 75 76 (W) 76 (E) 77 78 79 80 81 82
83 84 (W) 84 (E) 85 86 (W) 86 (E) 87 88 (W) 88 (E) 89 90
91 93 94 95 96 97 99 (238) H-1 H-2 H-3
Unsigned  A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 PRI-1 PRI-2 PRI-3
Lists  Primary  Main - Intrastate - Suffixed - Future - Gaps
Auxiliary  Main - Future - Unsigned
Other  Standards - Business - Bypassed