New Mexico State Road 502
NM 502 highlighted in red | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by NMDOT | ||||
Length | 18.301 mi[1] (29.453 km) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | ![]() | |||
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East end | ![]() ![]() | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | New Mexico | |||
Counties | Los Alamos, Santa Fe | |||
Highway system | ||||
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/New_Mexico_502_westbound%2C_Jaconita_NM.jpg/289px-New_Mexico_502_westbound%2C_Jaconita_NM.jpg)
New Mexico State Road 502 (NM 502) is a 18.301-mile-long (29.453 km) state highway in New Mexico, United States of America. It is notable as the main access route to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Jemez Mountains, and town of Los Alamos.
Route description
The route is paved for its entire length, in contrast to some other state highways in northern New Mexico. NM 502 begins at its western terminus at NM 501 and heads due east through Los Alamos as Trinity Drive. It also begins as a four-lane road heading through town. As it exits town, it narrows down to two lanes and it then passes by the Los Alamos Airport, running parallel with its runway. It then reaches a junction with NM 4 at an interchange before continuing east with five lanes through the spectacular canyon/mesa country of the Pajarito Plateau. The highway then reaches another junction with NM 30 that goes north to Santa Clara Pueblo and Española. The route becomes a four-lane road and then crosses over the Rio Grande beside the historic Otowi Bridge. The route then passes south of San Ildefonso Pueblo and through El Rancho before reaching its eastern terminus at a single-point urban interchange (SPUI) at U.S. Route 84 (US 84) and US 285 in Pojoaque. The total length is about 18 miles (29 km). NM 502 was formally continuous with NM 501, which continues east from another junction with NM 4 to Los Alamos in the foothills of the Jemez Mountains. NM 502 has been a designated "safety corridor" for most of its length since November 2005, with speed limits restricted to 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) maximum, and lower through the towns and on the steep curves near the intersection with NM 4. Prior to 2007, the speed limit along the stretch from San Ildefonso Pueblo and Pojoaque Valley High School was 65 mph.
Despite Pojoaque being the eastern terminus, Santa Fe is the eastbound control city on NM 502 since traffic typically continues onto US 84 / 285, which does reach Santa Fe.
Major intersections
County | Location | mi[2] | km | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Los Alamos | Los Alamos | 0.000 | 0.000 | ![]() | Western terminus |
Santa Fe | | 6.110 | 9.833 | ![]() ![]() | Eastern terminus of NM 4 |
San Ildefonso Pueblo | 10.088 | 16.235 | ![]() ![]() | Southern terminus of NM 30 | |
Pojoaque | 18.301 | 29.453 | ![]() ![]() | Eastern terminus | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
See also
References
- ^ "Posted Route–Legal Description" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Transportation. March 16, 2010. p. 92. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- ^ "TIMS Road Segments by Posted Route/Point with AADT Info; NM, NMX-Routes" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Transportation. April 3, 2013. pp. 59–60. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
External links
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
Route map:
Geographic data related to New Mexico State Road 502 at OpenStreetMap
- Infobox road articles without wikidata country
- Infobox road articles without wikidata instance of
- Infobox road instances in New Mexico
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Articles using KML not from Wikidata
- AC with 0 elements
- Jemez Mountains
- State highways in New Mexico
- Transportation in Los Alamos County, New Mexico
- Transportation in Santa Fe County, New Mexico
- Pages using the Kartographer extension