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State Road 423
Paseo del Norte
NM 423 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NMDOT
Length	17.000 mi (27.359 km)
Major junctions
West end	NM 345 Unser Boulevard in Albuquerque
Major intersections	NM 45 in Albuquerque NM 47 in North Valley I-25 / US 85 in Albuquerque
East end	NM 556 in Albuquerque
Location
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
Counties	Bernalillo
Highway system
New Mexico State Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
← NM 421 → NM 427

New Mexico State Road 423 (NM 423) is a 17.0-mile-long (27.4 km) state highway entirely within Bernalillo County, New Mexico. For its entire length, NM-423 is signed as Paseo del Norte in Albuquerque.

Route description

The highway's western terminus is at Atrisco Vista Boulevard on the west mesa of Albuquerque and then proceeds east to Unser Boulevard. State maintenance begins at Unser Boulevard and continues eastward to NM-556 (Tramway Boulevard). West of Unser Boulevard, Paseo Del Norte is currently owned and maintained by the City of Albuquerque. From there it then intersects Coors Boulevard. The highway then continues east to Interstate 25 (I-25). The highway's eastern terminus is at an intersection with NM 556.

From NM 45 to I-25, NM 423 is a freeway with a 60-mile-per-hour (97 km/h) speed limit. From I-25 to its eastern terminus at NM 556, NM 423 is a 6-lane divided highway with at-grade intersections with speed limits of 45-55 MPH. Initial proposals to reconstruct its interchange with I-25 would have also extended the freeway portion of NM 423 east from Jefferson Boulevard east to Louisiana Boulevard. The scaled back design added two flyover ramps to provide high-speed nonstop access between I-25 northbound and NM 423 westbound and also NM 423 eastbound and I-25 southbound. The signalized intersections with the I-25 frontage roads remain in place, the same with at-grade intersections with San Pedro Road and Louisiana Boulevard (to the east of I-25).

History

The highway's bridge over the Rio Grande opened in December 1987 and primarily served commuter traffic from Rio Rancho. Paseo del Norte was originally conceived as part of a 40-mile (64 km) freeway beltway system around central Albuquerque that was never fully built.

2010s reconstruction

The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) approved a construction design at a cost of US$93 million, US$55 million of which comes from Bernalillo County and the City of Albuquerque, US$29.75 million from the State of New Mexico, and the other US$8.25 million from federal funding. Funding was approved in November 2012; construction began in October 2013, and was completed in December 2014. The completed interchange allowed for unimpeded access on Paseo from I-25 all the way to Golf Course Road, reducing travel times and congestion for the West Side areas and Rio Rancho.

A hybrid stack interchange was built at Paseo Del Norte and I-25, it consists of a fly-over ramp carrying two lanes from Northbound I-25 to Westbound Paseo Del Norte and also a ramp from Eastbound Paseo Del Norte to Southbound I-25, the latter of which goes under the southbound I-25 frontage road. A new loop entrance ramp from Westbound Paseo Del Norte to Southbound I-25 was also built.

A single point urban interchange was also constructed at Jefferson Street, a major artery through Journal Center that had become congested due to the growth of west side neighborhoods. Traffic using the flyover from northbound I-25 to westbound Paseo Del Norte are not able to exit at Jefferson Street.

Major intersections

The entire route is in Bernalillo County. All exits are unnumbered.

Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Albuquerque	0.000	0.000	Golf Course Road	Western terminus
	1.094– 1.194	1.761– 1.922	NM 45 (Coors Road)	Single point urban interchange
	1.894– 1.960	3.048– 3.154	Bridge over the Rio Grande
North Valley	3.847	6.191	NM 47 (2nd Street) / 4th Street	Modified single point urban interchange
Albuquerque	5.515	8.876	Jefferson Street	Single point urban interchange
	5.891	9.481	I-25 south (US 85 south) – Las Cruces	Can only access I-25 off NM 423 eastbound
	5.991	9.642	FR 2537 south (Pan American West Frontage Road)	FR 2537 is one-way southbound only
	6.134	9.872	I-25 south – Las Cruces	Can only access I-25 off NM 423 westbound
	6.303	10.144	FR 2523 (Pan American East Frontage Road) north To I-25 north (US 85 north) – Santa Fe	FR 2523 is one-way northbound only
	17.000	27.359	NM 556 (Tramway Boulevard)	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

Future plans

The Mid Region Council of Governments (MRCOG) is proposing to start a bus rapid transit service on Paseo Del Norte. This route would start in southwest Rio Rancho, cross the River on Paseo Del Norte, and terminate south of Journal Center. Plans also call for a connection to another planned BRT route on University to UNM, CNM, and the Sunport. In order to facilitate this new route, the lanes on Paseo Del Norte would be reduced from 6 to 4 for automobile traffic, with the other 2 lanes becoming BRT dedicated lanes. Park and Ride locations would also be built on the west side.

Long-term plans call for NM-347 to eventually be extended south from its present terminus in Rio Rancho to Paseo del Norte in west Albuquerque.

See also

• U.S. Roads portal

References

1. "Posted Route–Legal Description" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Transportation. March 16, 2010. p. 79. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
2. Hartranft, Michael (December 10, 1987). "Rio Rancho Says Bridge a Start To Clear Roads". Albuquerque Journal. p. 1. Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Hartranft, Michael (December 11, 1987). "Champagne Celebrates New Bridge". Albuquerque Journal. p. A1. Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Martin, Jim (December 10, 1987). "City Strives To Avert Big I 'Curse'". Albuquerque Journal. p. 3. Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "History". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
6. ^ "Purpose & Funding". www.paseoi25.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-12.
7. "Project Videos". www.paseoi25.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-13.
8. "TIMS Road Segments by Posted Route/Point with AADT Info; NM, NMX-Routes" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Transportation. April 3, 2013. pp. 5–7. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
9. "Paseo del Norte Study - www.mrcog-nm.gov". Mrcog-nm.gov. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
10. "Meetings Scheduled To Discuss Transportation in UNM/CNM Area". Abqjournal.com. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
11. "CNM/UNM/Sunport Traffic Topic of Meeting Tonight". Abqjournal.com. Retrieved 11 October 2014.

External links

Geographic data related to New Mexico State Road 432 at OpenStreetMap

• Paseo-I25 Project (NMDOT)
• Mrcog-nm.gov (2)

• State highways in New Mexico
• Transportation in Bernalillo County, New Mexico