U.S. Route 66 (New Mexico)

U.S. Route 66
Will Rogers Highway
Route information
Maintained by NMDOT
Existed:	November 11, 1926 (1926-11-11) – June 26, 1985 (1985-06-26)
Major junctions
West end:	US 66 at Arizona state line
	US 85 – Albuquerque US 54 – Tucumcari
East end:	BL I-40 / US 66 at Texas state line
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Replaced State Roads in New Mexico Interstate US State Minor Scenic ← US 64 US 66 US 70 → ← NM 117 NM 118 NM 119 → ← NM 121 NM 122 NM 124 NM 125 → ← NM 330 NM 333 NM 337 →

The historic U.S. Route 66 (US 66, Route 66) ran east–west across the central part of the state of New Mexico, along the path now taken by Interstate 40 (I-40). However, until 1937, it took a longer route via Los Lunas, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe, now roughly New Mexico State Road 6 (NM 6), I-25, and US 84. Large portions of the old road parallel to I-40 have been designated NM 118, NM 122, NM 124, NM 333, three separate loops of I-40 Business, and state-maintained frontage roads.

It is one of the roads on the Trails of the Ancients Byway, one of the designated New Mexico Scenic Byways.

Route 66 in New Mexico was marked over portions of two auto trails — the National Old Trails Road from Arizona via Albuquerque and Santa Fe to just shy of Las Vegas, and one of the main routes of the Ozark Trails network from that point into Texas. The state had taken over maintenance of these roads under several numbers: NM 6 from Arizona to Los Lunas, part of NM 1 through Albuquerque and Santa Fe to near Las Vegas, NM 56 to Santa Rosa, the short NM 104 to Cuervo, and part of NM 3 to Texas. While NM 56 and NM 104 were completely absorbed by US 66, NM 6 was reassigned to a route splitting from US 66 (old NM 6) at Laguna and heading straight east through Albuquerque, Moriarty, and Palma to US 66 at Santa Rosa. Except between Albuquerque and Moriarty, where it formed part of US 470, this was an unimproved road.

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