West end: NM 501 in Los Alamos Length 29.45 km | East end: US 285 in Pojoaque | |
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Counties Los Alamos County, New Mexico, Santa Fe County, New Mexico | ||
New Mexico State Road 502 is a 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.
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Map of NM-502, New Mexico, USA
Route description
New Mexico 502 starts at a single-point urban interchange (SPUI) at U.S. Highway 84/285 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 New Mexico State Road 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 New Mexico State Road 4 and on to the town of Los Alamos, where it ends. The total length is about 18 miles (29 km). NM 502 is continuous with New Mexico State Road 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.