page_title: Interstate 40 in New Mexico
section_title: Arizona to Albuquerque
hierarchical_section_title: Interstate 40 in New Mexico / Route description / Arizona to Albuquerque
caption_attribution_description: English: Interstate 40 at Rio Puerco, just west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with the Route 66 Casino near their intersection
context_page_description: Interstate 40, a major east–west route of the Interstate Highway System, runs east–west through Albuquerque in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the direct replacement for the historic U.S. Highway 66.
context_section_description: As I-40 enters New Mexico in a northeasterly direction it begins following the basin of the intermittent Puerco River (Rio Puerco of the West, as opposed to the Rio Puerco of the East that it crosses near Albuquerque), roughly tracing the southern edge of the contiguous part of the Navajo Reservation in the state.  The freeway enters Gallup twenty miles (32 km) later paralleling the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway's southern transcontinental mainline. Leaving Gallup the now more easterly I-40 passes to the north of  Fort Wingate and part of the fragmented Cibola National Forest before crossing the North American continental divide at an elevation of 7,275 ft (2,217 m), with 11,305 ft (3,446 m) stratovolcano Mt. Taylor towering to the east.
  The highway traverses more of the Navajo Reservation and the Cibola Forest before turning southeast and crossing a malpaís. After serving interchanges near Grants, the freeway, coinciding with the northern boundary of El Malpais National Monument, crosses another malpaís, turns east and enters the Acoma Indian Reservation, home of the Acoma Pueblo. The route leaves the Acoma Indian Reservation with Mt. Taylor to the north and enters the Laguna Pueblo. Near the interchange with New Mexico State Road 6 (NM 6) the railway line that accompanies much of the route from the Arizona border diverts to the south while the freeway turns east by northeast towards Albuquerque. The route departs the Laguna Pueblo, briefly transits the Tohajiilee Indian Reservation (a chapter of the Navajo Nation), crosses the Rio Puerco and begins a steep climb to the top of a mesa marked by several small cinder cones overlooking the Rio Grande rift and Albuquerque.
  From Laguna to the Route 66 Casino, I-40 has at-grade intersections with a number of ranch access roads in violation of Interstate Highway standards. These intersections are a vestige that remain from the conversion of US 66 to I-40 during the latter part of the 20th century.
caption: Interstate 40 at Rio Puerco just west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with the Route 66 Casino by their intersection
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