New Mexico State Road 44

State Road 44 (NM 44) was a state highway in the US state of New Mexico. NM 44's southern terminus was in Cedar Crest from 1940-1988 and in Bernalillo from 1988–2000, and the northern terminus was in Aztec from 1940-1988 and in Bloomfield from 1988–2000. The route became an extension of U.S. Route 550 (US 550) in 2000 after the road was changed from a 2-lane to 4-lane-divided highway from Bloomfield to Bernalillo.

State Road 44 marker
State Road 44
Map
1988 routing of NM 44 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NMDOT
Existed1930–2000
Major junctions
Southern end NM 10 / NM 14 in Cedar Crest (1940-1988), I-25 in Bernalillo (1988-2000)
Northern end US 550 in Aztec (1940-1988), US 64 in Bloomfield (1988-2000)
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew Mexico
CountiesRio Arriba, Sandoval, San Juan
Highway system
  • New Mexico State Highway System
NM 43 NM 45

History

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In the 1930s, the section between Cuba and Farmington was known as NM 55. By 1940 NM 44 was moved to the road NM 55 followed, and the NM 55 designation was removed. The section east of Interstate 25 (US 85) was renumbered in 1988 as NM 165 and as an extension of NM 536, and the segment between Bloomfield and Aztec became NM 544 because NM 44 had a short concurrency with US 64. In the late 80s and early 90s the accident rates began to increase which prompted New Mexico Department of Transportation to upgrade the entire road from Aztec to Bernalillo from 2-lane to a 4-lane-divided over a several-year period at a cost of $312 million, and once construction was complete NM 44 and NM 544 became an extension of US 550 in 2000.[2][3]

Major intersections

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Based on 1988-2000 routing.

CountyLocationmi[4]kmDestinationsNotes
SandovalBernalillo0.0000.000  I-25 – Albuquerque, Santa FeSouthern terminus
2.4403.927 
 
NM 528 south – Rio Rancho
Northern terminus of NM 528
23.22537.377 
 
NM 4 north – San Ysidro
Southern terminus of NM 4
63.381102.002 
 
NM 197 south – Torreon
Northern terminus of NM 197
Cuba64.346103.555 
 
NM 126 east – Santa Fe National Forest
Western terminus of NM 126
68.025109.476 
 
NM 96 north – La Jara
Southern terminus of NM 96
85.485137.575 
 
NM 537 north
Southern terminus of NM 537
Rio Arriba
No major junctions
San Juan123.470198.706 
 
NM 57 south
Northern terminus of NM 57
Bloomfield151.746244.212  US 64 – Farmington, TaosNorthern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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References

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KML is not from Wikidata
  1. ^ "Posted Route: Legal Description" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Transportation. March 16, 2010. p. 91. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  2. ^ Riner, Steve (January 19, 2008). "State Routes 26–50". New Mexico Highways. Retrieved November 19, 2018.[self-published source?]
  3. ^ Cole, Thom (10 June 2017). "U.S. 550 has a reputation as 'killing zone'". Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  4. ^ "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 October 20, 2018.