New Mexico State Road 502

New Mexico State Road 502 (NM 502) is a 18.301-mile-long (29.453 km) state highway in New Mexico, United States of America. It is notable as the main access route to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Jemez Mountains, and town of Los Alamos.

State Road 502
NM 502 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NMDOT
Length18.301 mi[1] (29.453 km)
Major junctions
West end NM 501 in Los Alamos
  NM 4
NM 30 in San Ildefonso Pueblo
East end US 84 / US 285 in Pojoaque
Location
CountiesLos Alamos, Santa Fe
Highway system
  • State Roads in New Mexico
← NM 501NM 503 →
Westbound in Pojoqaue

Route description
NM 502 eastbound just east of the junction with NM 30

NM 502 starts at a single-point urban interchange (SPUI) at U.S. Route 84 (US 84) and US 285 in Pojoaque. It passes out of Pojoaque and past San Ildefonso Pueblo to a modern bridge across the Rio Grande beside the historic Otowi Bridge, then to a junction with NM 30 which goes north to Santa Clara Pueblo and Española. NM 502 itself continues west through the spectacular canyon/mesa country of the Pajarito Plateau, to a junction with NM 4 and on to the town of Los Alamos, where it ends. The total length is about 18 miles (29 km). NM 502 was formally continuous with NM 501, which continues from Los Alamos west to another junction with NM 4 in the foothills of the Jemez Mountains.

The route is paved for its entire length, in contrast to some other state highways in northern New Mexico. It is 4-lane road from Pojoaque to the junction with NM 30, then adds a fifth lane west-bound to accommodate the heavy commuter traffic going from Pojoaque, Española, etc., to LANL in the morning, and back in the evening. The road narrows to two lanes beyond the junction with NM 4, where much of the LANL traffic leaves NM 502. NM 502 has been a designated "safety corridor" for most of its length since November 2005, with speed limits restricted to 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) 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.

Major intersections
CountyLocationmi[2]kmDestinationsNotes
Los AlamosLos Alamos0.0000.000 NM 501Western terminus
Santa Fe​6.1109.833 NM 4 west – White RockEastern terminus of NM 4
San Ildefonso Pueblo10.08816.235 NM 30 north – EspañolaSouthern terminus of NM 30
Pojoaque18.30129.453 US 84 / US 285 – Santa Fe, EspañolaEastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also
  •  U.S. Roads portal

References
  1. "Posted Route–Legal Description" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Transportation. March 16, 2010. p. 92. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  2. "TIMS Road Segments by Posted Route/Point with AADT Info; NM, NMX-Routes" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Transportation. April 3, 2013. pp. 59–60. Retrieved December 14, 2013.

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Geographic data related to New Mexico State Road 502 at OpenStreetMap

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