Big I
Encyclopedia
Big I is the name of the freeway interchange where Interstate 25
(I-25) and I-40
intersect northeast of downtown Albuquerque
, New Mexico
, United States.
located in central Albuquerque, New Mexico. The interchange, reconstructed between 2000 and 2002, is the busiest interchange in the state, handling an average of 300,000 vehicles per day as of 2000. The interchange accommodates traffic movements between I-25, I-40, and their associated frontage road
s.
Since 1995, the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority has installed a snowman made of tumbleweed
in the right-of-way next to the interchange.
The reconstruction, which was budgeted to cost $221.8 million (equivalent to $ million in ), was completed at a total cost $293 million, (equivalent to $ million in ), and took 23 months to complete. The reconstruction was the largest public works project ever undertaken in New Mexico, and was the winner of the 2002 President's Transportation Award for Highways from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
. A survey done in 2002 showed that after the reconstruction the hours of annual delay dropped from 16 million to just 1.1 million after the completion of the project.
Interstate 25 in New Mexico
In the U.S. state of New Mexico, Interstate 25 follows the north–south corridor through Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It replaced U.S. Route 85, which is no longer signed, but still exists in route logs sharing the I-25 alignment. I-25 starts in New Mexico at an interchange with I-10 in Las Cruces and...
(I-25) and I-40
Interstate 40 in New Mexico
Interstate 40, a major east–west route of the Interstate Highway System, runs east–west through Albuquerque in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the direct replacement for the historic U.S...
intersect northeast of downtown Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, United States.
Description
The Big I is a complex stack interchangeStack interchange
A stack interchange is a free-flowing grade separated junction between two roads.In countries where one drives on the right, left turns are handled by semi-directional flyover/under ramps...
located in central Albuquerque, New Mexico. The interchange, reconstructed between 2000 and 2002, is the busiest interchange in the state, handling an average of 300,000 vehicles per day as of 2000. The interchange accommodates traffic movements between I-25, I-40, and their associated frontage road
Frontage road
A frontage road is a non-limited access road running parallel to a higher-speed road, usually a freeway, and feeding it at appropriate points of access...
s.
Since 1995, the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority has installed a snowman made of tumbleweed
Tumbleweed
A tumbleweed is the above-ground part of a plant that, once mature and dry, disengages from the root and tumbles away in the wind. Usually, the tumbleweed is the entire plant apart from the roots, but in a few species it is a flower cluster. The tumbleweed habit is most common in steppe and desert...
in the right-of-way next to the interchange.
History
The Big I was originally built in the early 1960s with left exits designed to handle 60,000 vehicles per day. By the late 1990s, however, it could no longer handle Albuquerque's increasing traffic flows and needed to be replaced. Construction work on a new interchange began in June 2000 and lasted until May 2002.The reconstruction, which was budgeted to cost $221.8 million (equivalent to $ million in ), was completed at a total cost $293 million, (equivalent to $ million in ), and took 23 months to complete. The reconstruction was the largest public works project ever undertaken in New Mexico, and was the winner of the 2002 President's Transportation Award for Highways from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
AASHTO, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols and guidelines which are used in highway design and construction throughout the United States...
. A survey done in 2002 showed that after the reconstruction the hours of annual delay dropped from 16 million to just 1.1 million after the completion of the project.