Big I
| Big I | |
|---|---|
 On I-40 approaching the Big I | |
| Location | |
| Albuquerque, New Mexico | |
| Coordinates: | 35°06′17″N 106°37′48″W / 35.1048°N 106.6300°WCoordinates: 35°06′17″N 106°37′48″W / 35.1048°N 106.6300°W |
| Roads at junction: |
.svg.png){kind=small} I-25.svg.png){kind=small} I-40 |
| Construction | |
| Type: | Stack interchange |
| Constructed: | June 2000 – May 2002 (reconstruction) |
| Opened: |
1966 (original) May 2002 (reconstruction) |
| Maintained by: | NMDOT |
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.
Description
The Big I is a complex stack interchange located in central Albuquerque, New Mexico. The interchange, reconstructed between 2000 and 2002, is the busiest in the state, handling an average of 300,000 vehicles per day as of 2000.[1] The interchange accommodates traffic movements between I-25, I-40, and their associated frontage roads.
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.[2]
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.[citation needed]
The reconstruction, which was budgeted to cost $221.8 million (equivalent to $301 million in 2014[ 1]),[1] was completed at a total cost $293 million, (equivalent to $380 million in 2014[ 1]), 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.[3] 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.[4]
See also
New Mexico portal
U.S. Roads portal
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Major construction contract goes to Twin Mountain". Amarillo Globe-News (Morris Communications). Associated Press. February 8, 2000. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
- ↑ Fleck, John (November 30, 2010). "Tumbleweed Snowman Makes His Appearance". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
- ↑ "Big I team wins transportation award". New Mexico Business Weekly. September 26, 2002. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
- ↑ "Bottlenecks choking U.S. roadways". CNN. February 19, 2004. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
External links
Media related to Big I (interchange) at Wikimedia Commons- American Segmental Bridge Institute website
- Image of Big I Interchange
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