Interstate 25 begins at Interstate 10's exit 144 in Las Cruces. Immediately, three exits provide access to the city, including one for U.S. Route 70. After this, there are no major cities along the corridor until Albuquerque. However, when I-25 reaches Truth or Consequences, it is parallel to Elephant Butte Reservoir State Park.
As I-25 nears Albuquerque, it has interchanges with roads such as U.S. Route 380 and a concurrency with Route 60. Getting even closer, State Road 6, the original U.S. Route 66, meets up with I-25 in Los Lunas. Now getting even closer to Albuquerque, there are frequent exits to city streets, along with a huge interchange with Interstate 40. Named the Big I, it was given an honorable mention by the United States Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration for excellence in urban highway design in 2002.
Leaving Albuquerque, I-25 starts to curve into an east¨Cwest orientation as it heads toward Santa Fe. I-25 retains that orientation until Las Vegas, where it starts to revert back into its usual north¨Csouth orientation. The highway stays this way as it leaves New Mexico and enters Colorado.