Big I

Big I
On I-40 approaching the Big I
Location
Albuquerque,New Mexico
Coordinates	35.1048°N 106.6300°W/35.1048; -106.6300
Roads at junction	I-25/US 85 I-40
Construction
Type	Stack interchange
Constructed	June 2000 – May 2002(reconstruction)
Opened	1966(1966)(original) May 2002(reconstruction)
Maintained by	NMDOT

TheBig Iis afreeway interchangewhereInterstate 25/U.S. Route 85andInterstate 40intersect northeast of downtownAlbuquerque, New Mexico.

Description

The Big I is a complexstack interchangelocated in central Albuquerque, New Mexico.The interchange, reconstructed between 2000 and 2002, is the busiest in the state, handling anaverageof over 400,000 vehicles per day before theCOVID-19 pandemic.The interchange accommodates traffic movements between I-25, I-40, and their associatedfrontage roads.

History

The Big I was originally built in the mid-1960s with left exits designed to handle 60,000 vehicles per day. By the late 1990s, however, it could no longer handle Albuquerque's increasing traffic flows and needed to be replaced. Construction work on a new interchange began in June 2000 and lasted until May 2002.

The reconstruction, which was budgeted to cost $221.8 million (equivalent to $392 million in 2024),was completed at a total cost $293 million, (equivalent to $496 million in 2024), and took 23 months to complete. The reconstruction was the largest public works project ever undertaken in New Mexico, and was the winner of the 2002 President's Transportation Award for Highways from theAmerican Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.A survey done in 2002 showed that after the completion of the project, the hours of annual delay dropped from 16 million to just 1.1 million.

Tumbleweed Snowman

Tumbleweed Snowman

Location	Albuquerque, New Mexico
Builder	Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority
Material	Tumbleweed,Recycled Materials
Width	About 8'
Height	12-14'
Opening date	1995

Tumbleweed Snowmanis a snowman made oftumbleweedinstalled annually at theright-of-waynext to the interchange.It was first erected in 1995 by the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority (AMAFCA) and has been an annual tradition to put one up every December.

It is built from three tumbleweeds and recycled material accessories. It starts on "Tumbleweed Tuesday" which is the Tuesday following Thanksgiving.By August, AMAFCA employees start to look for tumbleweeds they can use for their snowman. They weld their 3 tumbleweeds together on a stand to protect it from windstorms, and the snowman stands tall until the first week of January. The AMAFCA hat they use for this snowman is a 55 Gallon steel pot. The scarf around the snowman is made by an AMAFCA construction employee's mother in-law.

See also

• U.S. Roads portal

External links

• American Segmental Bridge Institute website
• Image of Big I Interchange