Ask the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to stop the current plan to expand I-25 through the center of Albuquerque. Instead, we are asking the state to rethink more sustainable, equitable, and modern solutions that address our transportation needs while protecting communities.

The current highway has already inflicted considerable harm to our downtown neighborhoods, devastating their connectivity, walkability, and overall quality of life. Persistent challenges such as noise and air pollution, traffic through residential streets, and unsafe conditions for pedestrians and cyclists have persisted for decades. The proposed plan results in a significant increase in the highway’s footprint. This risks compounding these issues rather than alleviating them. We should be taking steps to correct the mistakes of the past rather than doubling down on them. 

The proposed plan will:

• increase traffic and congestion, as has been the case for every urban highway that added more lanes, due to induced demand;
• destroy any hope to revitalize downtown and instead fuel suburban sprawl, draining people and wealth from the neighborhoods;
• result in even more pedestrian and cyclist deaths.

This plan is a bad deal for Albuquerque, but there is a better way!
Learn more at www.rethinki25.org.
Follow us on Instagram @rethinki25.

A BAD DEAL FOR ALBUQUERQUE

Highway Safety
Expanding the highway won’t reduce congestion or improve safety—it will create more traffic, higher speeds, and deadlier crashes, and induce even more car dependency and suburban sprawl. Learn more about the harmful effects of widening the highway. 

Pedestrian Safety
Albuquerque is one of the deadliest cities for people walking and biking. Many of the most dangerous spots are near highway ramps cutting through our most walkable neighborhoods. Learn more about the deadly effect of high-speed highway access through our neighborhoods.

Local Economy
Highway expansion hurts local businesses and undermines downtown redevelopment. It drains wealth from neighborhoods, creates dead zones, and fuels suburban sprawl. Downtown needs more people, not more lanes. Learn more about how walkable, vibrant streets bring people and spending back to local businesses.

Healthy Communities
Highways cause air and noise pollution, induce additional traffic and emissions, and are linked to a number of health impacts to neighboring communities including childhood asthma. Expanding the highway will compound this effect. Learn more about the human and environmental effects of widening the highway.

Social Justice
The highway was built by tearing through and separating neighborhoods. The communities most impacted are still paying the price today. We have a chance to do things differently. Learn more about how we can repair past wrongs rather than repeating them.

Financial Burden
The state cannot afford to maintain all the roads it currently has—our road system is financially insolvent. This project will cost approx. $500M. Could we instead invest in financially productive projects that grow our economy? Learn more about the financial implications of our road system on New Mexicans.

A BETTER WAY FORWARD

Read our plan for sustainable, equitable, and modern 21st-century solutions that address our transportation needs while protecting communities. 

1. Stop the Expansion!
The current proposal is a once-in-a-generation project that will impact Albuquerque's downtown and core neighborhoods and those of us who live, work, or play here, for decades to come. It will further entrench us into car dependency, sprawl and traffic deaths.

Tell NMDOT and Governor Lujan Grisham: Stop the expansion—rethink the future!​

• NO to more lanes
• NO to higher speeds
• NO to deadlier intersections
• NO to new frontage roads

2. Improve Pedestrian Safety
The highway crossings in the city core are some of the deadliest spots for pedestrians and cyclists in Albuquerque. The highway needs repair to its crumbling infrastructure, but let's use the opportunity to incrementally improve our city and start undoing some of the historical wrongs that continue to have persistent effects. ​​

Tell NMDOT we want safer intersections!

3. Develop a Long-Term Plan
Ask NMDOT and MRCOG to develop a long-term plan to reduce the highway's impact on the community.

• Alternate route for non-local traffic
• Highway-to-boulevard conversion
• Highway cap/lid

4. Invest in Transit
NMDOT has a choice in which projects to pursue and how to address transportation demand. By investing in transit we can create efficient, convenient, and safe transit systems that are competitive with driving and relieve pressure on the highway system. 

Ask NMDOT to invest in transit!

• Between cities: Improved Rail Runner
• Within Albuquerque: Improved and expanded ART

READ MORE

This plan is a bad deal for Albuquerque, but there is a better way!
Learn more at www.rethinki25.org.