| I-10 | |||
| Begin | Lordsburg | ||
| End | Anthony | ||
| Length | 162 mi | ||
| Length | 261 km | ||
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Interstate 10 or I -10 is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The highway runs in the far south of the state, not far from the Mexican border. The route mainly runs through deserts, and the only larger city is Las Cruces. Just after the border crossing with Texas is the large city of El Paso, with the adjacent Mexican Ciudad Juárez. The highway crosses the Continental Divide between Lordsburg and Deming, the watershed between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The route through New Mexico is 261 kilometers long.
- 800ZipCodes: Provides a list of all postal codes in the state of New Mexico, covering area code, zip code and map for each city within New Mexico.
Travel directions
I-10 op de state line in Anthony.
Interstate 10 in Arizona merges into New Mexico about 25 miles west of Lordsburg. Immediately after the border is a Ghost Town, a ghost town with no inhabitants. The highway runs through a desert at about 1200 meters altitude. One passes the village of Lordsburg, where US 70 merges. The highway has a number of exits that lead to nowhere, or distant villages. The route leads through an uninhabited area, where severe dust storms can occur that can reduce visibility to the windshield. Stopping in such a storm is life-threatening, but so is driving on. You pass the Continental Divide at about 1,400 meters altitude, the highest point of Interstate 10. You pass Deming, a regional town, where US 180also inserts. To the north, Silver City is in the mountains, with peaks reaching over 3300 meters. Deming only has 3 turns, so you can get past it in no time. The road again runs through deserts where only some low shrubs grow.
One crosses the Rio Grande River, and enters the city of Las Cruces, which has a population of 86,000, and is the second largest city in the state of New Mexico. The highway runs along the south side, through an irrigated farmland, and US 70 exits downtown, and on to Roswell, through the White Sands Desert. US 180 continues to run over I-10. On the east side, it interchanges with Interstate 25, the highway that runs north, through Albuquerque to Denver and on to Wyoming. After Las Cruces, the road heads south, following the course of the Rio Grande. At Anthony’s level, Interstate 10 continues in Texas.
- a2zDirectory: Lists popular attractions in New Mexico, including parks, festivals and holidays of New Mexico.
History
I-10’s predecessor was US 80, which traveled the same route. West of Las Cruces, I-10 is largely constructed over US 80, south of Las Cruces I-10 runs over a new route parallel to the old route of US 80. In 1989 the number US 80 was discontinued.
Few details are known of the history of I-10 in the state of New Mexico. Most of the highway was built in the 1960s, and nearly all of I-10 in New Mexico was completed by 1967, except for three short stretches east of Lordsburg, east of Deming, and past Las Cruces. At the time, I-10 was the most completed Interstate Highway in New Mexico. At that time it was common for the bypasses of cities to be built last, because in many places activity depended on passers-by on through routes. This phenomenon was visible in much of the southwestern United States.
By 1969 the missing section east of Deming had been constructed, and circa 1972-1973 the Las Cruces bypass opened. Finally, the Lordsburg bypass was opened, presumably later in the 1970s. I-10 replaced US 80 through New Mexico, although the highway is still double-numbered with US 70 between Lordsburg and Las Cruces, and a shorter section with US 180 between Deming and Las Cruces.
Between 2009 and 2011, I-10 between Las Cruces and the Texas border was widened to 2×3 lanes. Between April 2012 and April 2013, the interchange with the I-25 in Las Cruces was converted and expanded. A new flyover for traffic from west to north has been realised.
Traffic intensities
Daily 22,000 vehicles drive west of Lordsburg at the Arizona border, rising to 28,000 vehicles as far as Deming and 32,000 vehicles west of Las Cruces. The Las Cruces bypass has 36,000 to 56,000 vehicles per day. From I-25 to the Texas border, there are 65,000 to 70,000 vehicles per day.
Lane Configuration
| Van | Unpleasant | Lanes |
| Exit 0 | Exit 166 | 2×2 |
