Traffic across Rio Grande river crossings in the Albuquerque metropolitan area has surged to record levels, jumping from approximately 500,000 vehicles daily in 2014 to nearly 580,000 in 2024, according to 2024 data released by the Mid-Region Council of Governments in November.
The 16% increase over the past decade represents the highest river crossing volumes since tracking began in 1984, when daily crossings totaled roughly 200,000 vehicles — less than half current levels. The growth comes despite elevated work-from-home rates that have persisted since the pandemic.
The record traffic underscores decades of worsening congestion across the metropolitan area, where daily vehicle miles traveled have now reached an all-time high of 27.8 million miles, a sevenfold increase from 3.8 million in 1970.
Regional planners warn that while river crossing growth is expected to slow to less than 1% through 2045, current congestion levels already pose significant risks to mobility, safety and quality of life.
No Easy Solutions to River Crossing Congestion
The river crossing bottleneck has defied simple solutions for decades, driven by multiple complex factors including historical growth patterns, jobs-housing imbalances and environmental constraints.
“Although there has been no silver bullet, as the issue has been driven and continues to be driven by multiple factors,” Nathan P. Masek, senior transportation planner for the Mid-Region Council of Governments, told City Desk ABQ.
New bridge construction faces formidable obstacles. Any additional river crossing would disrupt the environmentally sensitive cottonwood forest of the Bosque and Rio Grande State Park, require expensive right-of-way acquisitions and significantly impact existing neighborhoods. Regional planning officials say all potential new crossing locations have been explored over three decades, yet none have emerged as viable.
The problem is compounded by a fundamental jobs-housing imbalance, with employment opportunities concentrated east of the river while housing affordability has driven residential growth to the west.
“Our member agencies have continually been encouraging a better mix of land use, partly geared towards minimizing the amount of travel and also retaining trips on either side of the river,” Masek said.
According to the region’s 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan, population is expected to grow 4.1% and employment 14% through 2045, while vehicle miles traveled are projected to increase 4%. Despite programmed transportation improvements, river crossing volume growth is anticipated to remain under 1% — but that provides little relief given already severe congestion levels.
Alternative Strategies Under Consideration
With new infrastructure largely off the table, regional planners are focusing on demand management strategies, including enhanced transit service with commuter-focused routes, continued land use changes to balance jobs and housing on both sides of the river, and innovative approaches to shift when people travel rather than where.
One promising but underexplored option involves coordinating with major employers to stagger work start and end times, spreading demand away from traditional peak hours.
“If we have vehicle demand, combined with roadway capacity that cannot change as easily, what can shift? The time that the vehicles travel,” Masek explained, noting that such an approach would require significant regional coordination among employers.
Traffic management technologies, including Waze, Google Maps and NMRoads.com, help drivers make informed routing decisions, while flexible work schedules continue to provide some relief, though planners caution that consideration must be given to entire work weeks rather than just individual telework days.
River Crossings Show Relentless Growth
Major river crossing points, including Interstate 40, Interstate 25, Paseo del Norte, Montaño Road, Central Avenue and Alameda Boulevard, have all experienced substantial growth over the past decade. Stacked area charts showing river crossings from 1984 to 2024 illustrate consistent upward trends across all major crossing routes.
The data shows river crossings remained relatively stable around 500,000 to 520,000 vehicles daily from 2010 through 2019, before dropping to approximately 440,000 during the 2020 pandemic. The rebound since then has been dramatic, with 2024 volumes exceeding all previous records.
Historical patterns reveal even steeper long-term growth. Crossings stood at roughly 270,000 daily in 1988, 380,000 by 1998, and 490,000 by 2008, demonstrating consistent increases over each decade despite periodic economic downturns.
Per Capita Driving Nearly Doubles Over Five Decades
The data reveals that residents are not only traveling more in total, but each person is driving significantly more than in previous generations. Per capita vehicle miles traveled have nearly doubled from 12.35 miles per person daily in 1970 to 24.18 miles in 2024.
Over the past decade, per capita travel has increased from 22.51 miles per day in 2014 to 24.18 in 2024, even as work-from-home rates have more than tripled from historical norms.
Historical data shows particularly rapid growth through the 1980s and 1990s. Daily vehicle miles traveled jumped from 6.9 million in 1980 to 10.3 million in 1990 and 12.5 million by 2000. The trend continued into the 2010s, reaching 16.8 million daily miles by 2010, 19.9 million by 2014, and 17.3 million by 2019.
The pandemic provided only a brief respite, with 2020 showing a sharp decline to 16.3 million daily miles and per capita travel dropping to 20.46 miles. However, traffic rebounded dramatically in 2021 and has continued climbing beyond pre-pandemic levels.
The region’s population has grown from approximately 884,000 in 2014 to more than 901,000 in 2024, but the roadway network has not kept pace proportionally. While road mileage has increased from 6,381 miles in 2014 to 7,484 miles in 2024, traffic volumes have grown faster.
Big I Traffic Nears All-Time High
The Big I interchange, where Interstate 40 and Interstate 25 intersect, recorded approach volumes of approximately 350,000 vehicles on average weekdays in 2024, approaching record highs. The interchange handled approximately 340,000 vehicles daily in 2014, showing steady growth over the decade.
Historical data shows the interchange handled roughly 150,000 vehicles daily in 1980, demonstrating more than 130% growth over four decades. Traffic at the critical junction dropped to about 300,000 vehicles in 2020 before recovering to near-record levels, with the 2019 pre-pandemic peak seeing approach volumes of approximately 390,000 vehicles.
Busiest Intersections Exceed Pre-Pandemic Peaks
The 2024 Traffic Flow Maps identify the top 25 busiest intersections in the Albuquerque Metropolitan Planning Area, with several now handling volumes that exceed both pre-pandemic and 2014 levels.
Ellison at Coors Boulevard Bypass leads with an approach volume of 81,043 vehicles on an average weekday, up from 60,586 vehicles in 2019 — a 34% increase in just five years. The intersection was not among the top 25 in 2014, indicating rapid development and traffic growth in the area.
Irving Boulevard at Coors Boulevard ranked second with 78,861 vehicles, up from 73,937 in 2019 and 68,227 in 2014. Montgomery Boulevard at San Mateo Boulevard recorded 77,824 vehicles, compared to 72,042 in 2019 and 66,722 in 2014.
Other high-traffic intersections include Montaño at Coors Boulevard (74,514), Quail Road at Coors Boulevard (74,501), Montgomery Boulevard at Wyoming Boulevard (74,238), and Westside Boulevard at New Mexico 528 (73,327).
Paseo Del Norte at Pan American East recorded 72,091 vehicles, while Coors Boulevard at Coors Boulevard (69,643) and Southern Boulevard at New Mexico 528 (68,835) rounded out the top 10.
Several intersections show dramatic growth over the past decade. Montgomery Boulevard at San Mateo Boulevard increased from 66,722 in 2014 to 77,824 in 2024, a 17% jump. Paseo Del Norte at San Pedro Drive grew from 62,101 in 2014 to 68,835 in 2024.
Growth Outpaces Infrastructure Expansion
The data indicates traffic congestion has intensified over the decades, with both absolute vehicle miles traveled and per capita travel showing sustained growth even as the region has expanded its road network.
The metropolitan planning area now encompasses 7,484 miles of roadway serving a population of 901,452 across Bernalillo, Sandoval, Valencia and Torrance counties. However, the road network expansion since 1970 has been far outpaced by the sevenfold increase in vehicle miles traveled during the same period.
Over the past decade, roadway mileage increased by approximately 1,100 miles (17%), while daily vehicle miles traveled grew by nearly 8 million miles (40%) and river crossings increased by 80,000 vehicles (16%).
The region’s 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan emphasizes maintaining the current transportation system before expanding, unless projects are deemed prudent and practical given the environmental, financial and community impact constraints.
Work-from-home rates, while elevated at 13.3%, have stabilized well below the 2021 pandemic peak of more than 18%, contributing to the return of heavy traffic volumes. The data suggests that even with one in eight workers remaining remote, the combination of population growth, urban sprawl and increased per capita driving has led to worse traffic conditions than a decade ago.
Dewey V. Cave, executive director of the Mid-Region Council of Governments, emphasized the importance of the data for regional planning.
“This information is used by local agencies, the media and many others to make informed decisions based on actual local traffic data collected under our program,” Cave said in a press release.The organization has produced annual traffic flow maps dating back to 1968, with vehicle miles traveled data available from 1970. The complete 2024 Traffic Flow Maps, interactive traffic count data and the 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan are available on the Mid-Region Council of Governments website at mrcog-nm.gov.
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