Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

in the western

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexico (approximately north of

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...

) to I-90 in Buffalo, Wyoming (approximately south of the

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

–Wyoming border). It passes through or near Albuquerque, New Mexico;

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 111,876 at the 2020 United States Census, making Pueblo the ninth most popu ...

; Colorado Springs, Colorado;

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Cheyenne, Wyoming. The I-25 corridor is mainly rural, especially in Wyoming, excluding the Albuquerque, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver, and Fort Collins metropolitan areas. The part of I-25 in Colorado passes just east of the

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountere ...

of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

. That stretch was involved in a large-scale renovation named the Transportation Expansion Project (T-REX) in Denver and the Colorado Springs Metropolitan Interstate Expansion (COSMIX). These projects, and others in New Mexico, were necessary because these stretches of I-25 were originally inadequately designed and constructed (the pavement was deteriorating rapidly), and also because urban areas, like Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, and Denver, had tripled and quadrupled in population much earlier than anyone had anticipated back in the 1950s and 1960s. Major highway work for the T-REX project ended on August 22, 2006. The COSMIX project was completed in December 2007. Several other smaller improvement projects for I-25 are still ongoing within New Mexico and Colorado.

Route description

, - , NM , 462.12 , 744.15 , - , CO , 299.70 , 481.19 , - , WY , 300.95 , 484.62 , - , Total , 1,062.77 , 1,719.68

New Mexico

I-25 begins at I-10's exit 144 in Las Cruces, just south of the

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the stat ...

campus. I-25 runs concurrently with U.S. Route 85 (US 85) at this point and carries this concurrency for the entire length of its run in New Mexico. Immediately, three exits provide access to the city, including one for US 70. When I-25 reaches Truth or Consequences, it is parallel to Elephant Butte Lake State Park. From Las Cruces to Santa Fe, I-25 follows the route of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. As I-25 nears Albuquerque, it has interchanges with highways, such as US 380, and a concurrency with US 60. Further north, State Road 6 (NM 6), former US 66, meets up with I-25 in Los Lunas. Through Albuquerque, I-25 is named the Pan American Freeway, and there are frequent exits to city streets. A major interchange with I-40 (which is styled as the Coronado Freeway in the city) is named the Big I. It was given an honorable mention by the United States Department of Transportation and the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...

for excellence in urban highway design in 2002. Leaving Albuquerque to the north, I-25 curves to the northeast as it approaches Santa Fe. Continuing 'northbound' at Santa Fe, I-25 heads southeast for approximately traveling through the Santa Fe National Forest and crossing Glorieta Pass (elevation ). It turns north again at Blanchard toward

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

. The highway maintains a north and northeast orientation as it leaves New Mexico traversing Raton Pass () and enters Colorado. Due to its elevation and frequent winter snowstorms, I-25 is sometimes impassible and closed in both directions at Raton Pass during winter months. From Santa Fe to

Trinidad, Colorado Trinidad is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. The population was 8,329 as of the 2020 census. Trinidad lies north of Raton, New Mexico, and s ...

, I-25 approximates part of the route of the Santa Fe Trail. For its entire length in the state, I-25 shares its alignment with US 85, although the latter is unsigned.

Colorado

I-25 has many nicknames through the state's larger cities. In

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, it is called the Valley Highway, as the highway parallels the course of the South Platte River throughout the downtown area and is often sunken below ground level. The section in El Paso County is named the

Ronald Reagan Highway The Ronald Reagan Highway or Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway may refer to the following roads named after U.S. President Ronald Reagan: Ronald Reagan Highway * U.S. Route 14 in Illinois * Interstate 25 in Colorado in El Paso County * Interstate 275 ...

, and, through Pueblo, it is named the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway. I-25 enters

south of the city of Trinidad. It is the main north–south route through

with a length of . The Interstate exits

in the north about south of Cheyenne, Wyoming. I-25 serves all the major cities in

that are east of the

, such as Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo,

Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facer ...

, and Greeley. For the entire distance in Colorado, from the north to the south, the

are clearly visible. There are also several important military and air bases and institutions along this route, such as Buckley Space Force Base, the

Cheyenne Mountain Complex The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to the city of Colorado Springs, at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, which hosts the activitie ...

headquarters of NORAD, Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base, and the United States Air Force Academy. I-25 crosses the Palmer Divide between Denver and Colorado Springs, providing some of the highway's most scenic views of the Rocky Mountains and its foothills. Blizzards and high winds on this stretch (particularly over Monument Hill) are notorious for causing traffic problems during the winter months. The section of I-25 that is between the northern border of Pueblo County, Colorado, and the

state line is named the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway" in honor of President Kennedy's support of water resources development in the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United S ...

Valley.

Wyoming

I-25 enters Wyoming south of the state capital,

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian languages, Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized tribe, federally recognize ...

. After traveling through Cheyenne, I-25 continues north to Douglas, passing many plateaus and also railroad tracks. Commonly, very long trains can be seen slowly moving alongside this highway. Around Douglas, this Interstate Highway curves somewhat to the west toward Casper. Once through Casper, I-25 turns due north, and it goes as far as Buffalo, where it ends at an interchange with I-90. I-90 then provides the connection to

History

The section in New Mexico between Romeroville and Los Lunas closely follows the original alignment of US 66, which was later shortened and realigned to run due west from Santa Rosa. Now, that has been replaced with I-40.

Junction list

;New Mexico : on the Las Cruces– University Park line. I-25/US 85 share an

unsigned Unsigned can refer to: * An unsigned artist is a musical artist or group not attached or signed to a record label ** Unsigned Music Awards, ceremony noting achievements of unsigned artists ** Unsigned band web, online community * Similarly, the ...

concurrency to Fountain, Colorado. : in Las Cruces : west of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

: in Socorro. The highways travel concurrently to south-southwest of Abeytas. : in Albuquerque : in Bernalillo : south of Santa Fe. I-25/US 84 travels concurrently to Romeroville. I-25/US 285 travels concurrently to Eldorado at Santa Fe. These are wrong-way concurrencies; driving east, one is on I-25 North and US 84 and 285 South. : south of Raton. The highways travel concurrently to Raton. : in Raton. I-25/US 87 travels concurrently to southeast of Glenrock, Wyoming. ;Colorado : in Trinidad. The highways travel concurrently to Walsenburg. : in Pueblo. The highways travel concurrently through Pueblo. : in Colorado Springs. The highways travel concurrently through Colorado Springs. : in Colorado Springs : in Colorado Springs. The highways travel concurrently to

Castle Rock Castle Rock may refer to: Geography Islands * Castle Rock (Alaskan Island), an island off the coast of the U.S. state of Alaska * Castle Rock, Hong Kong (螺洲白排), an island of Hong Kong, part of the Po Toi Islands * Castle Rock (Massachusett ...

. : in

: in Denver : in Denver. The highways travel concurrently through Denver. : in Denver. The highways travel concurrently through Denver. : in Denver : in Denver : southeast of Twin Lakes : on the Twin Lakes– Sherrelwood– Welby line : in Loveland ;Wyoming : south-southwest of

: southwest of Cheyenne : in Cheyenne. The highways travel concurrently to Ranchettes. : west-southwest of Dwyer Junction. The highways travel concurrently to southeast of Glenrock. : in Orin. I-25/US 20 travels concurrently to southeast of Glenrock. : in Casper. I-25/US 20/US 26 travels concurrently to the Casper–Bar Nunn city line. I-25/US 87 travels concurrently to north-northeast of Buffalo. : in Buffalo : north-northeast of Buffalo

Auxiliary routes

Business routes of Interstate 25 Interstate business routes are roads connecting a central or commercial district of a city or town with an Interstate bypass. These roads typically follow along local streets often along a former U.S. Route or state highway that had been replaced ...

* Interstate 225

References

External links

*
Interstate 25 by Matthew Salek
25

025 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

Transportation in Colorado Transportation in New Mexico 25 25