New Mexico State Road 502 (NM 502) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

United States of America 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 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. It is notable as the main access route to

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...

(LANL),

Bandelier National Monument Bandelier National Monument is a United States National Monument near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico. The monument preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans of a later era in the Southwest. Most ...

Valles Caldera National Preserve Valles Caldera (or Jemez Caldera) is a wide volcanic caldera in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico. Hot springs, streams, fumaroles, natural gas seeps and volcanic domes dot the caldera floor landscape. The highest point in the caldera i ...

Jemez Mountains The Jemez Mountains are a group of mountains in Rio Arriba, Sandoval, and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico, United States. Numerous Puebloan Indian tribes have lived in the Jemez Mountains region since before the Spanish arrived in New Mexico. T ...

, and town of Los Alamos.

Route description

The route is

paved Pavement may refer to: * Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering * Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways ** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface * Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway ...

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 A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by ...

country of the

Pajarito Plateau The Pajarito Plateau is a volcanic plateau in north central New Mexico, United States. The plateau, part of the Jemez Mountains, is bounded on the west by the Sierra de los Valles, the range forming the east rim of the Valles Caldera, and on the ea ...

. The highway then reaches another junction with NM 30 that goes north to

Santa Clara Pueblo Santa Clara Pueblo (in Tewa: Khaʼpʼoe Ówîngeh ɑ̀ʔp’òː ʔówîŋgè ″Singing Water Village″, also known as ″Village of Wild Roses″ is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States and a federal ...

and Española. The route becomes a four-lane road and then crosses over the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

beside the historic Otowi Bridge. The route then passes south of

San Ildefonso Pueblo San Ildefonso Pueblo (Tewa: Pʼohwhogeh Ówîngeh ’òhxʷógè ʔówîŋgè"where the water cuts through" ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States, and a federally recognized tribe, established c. 130 ...

and through El Rancho before reaching its eastern terminus at a

single-point urban interchange A single-point urban interchange (SPUI, or ), also called a single-point interchange (SPI) or single-point diamond interchange (SPDI), is a type of highway interchange. The design was created in order to help move large volumes of traffic thro ...

(SPUI) at

U.S. Route 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short dista ...

(US 84) and US 285 in

Pojoaque Pojoaque (; Tewa: Pʼohsųwæ̨geh Ówîngeh/P'osuwaege Owingeh ’òhsũ̀wæ̃̀gè ʔówîŋgè, Po’su wae geh, which translates to “water gathering place”, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. ...

. The total length is about . NM 502 was formally continuous with NM 501, which continues east from another junction with NM 4 to Los Alamos in the

foothill Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

s of the

. NM 502 has been a designated "safety corridor" for most of its length since November 2005, with

speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...

s restricted to 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 A control city is a city, locality, or other location posted on a series of traffic signs along a particular stretch of road indicating destinations on that route. Together with route numbers and cardinal directions, these focal points aid the mo ...

on NM 502 since traffic typically continues onto

US 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short distan ...

285 The year 285 ( CCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the "Year of the Consulship of Carinus and Aurelius" (or, less frequently, "year ...

, which does reach Santa Fe.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{authority control

1502 Year 1502 (Roman numerals, MDII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 1 – Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese explorers, led by Gonçal ...

502 __NOTOC__ Year 502 ( DII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avienus and Probus (or, less frequently, year 1255 ' ...

Transportation in Los Alamos County, New Mexico Transportation in Santa Fe County, New Mexico

Route description

Major intersections

See also

References

External links