New Mexico State Road 522

State Road 522 marker
State Road 522
Map
NM 522 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NMDOT
Length41.096 mi[1] (66.138 km)
Major junctions
South end US 64 / NM 150 near Taos
Major intersections NM 38 in Questa
North end SH 159 at Colorado state line
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew Mexico
CountiesTaos
Highway system
  • New Mexico State Highway System
← NM 519→ NM 523

State Road 522 (NM 522) is a 41.096-mile-long (66.138 km) state highway in far northern New Mexico. It was named the Senator Carlos R. Cisneros Memorial Highway, after the late Taos County Commissioner and state senator, in 2022.[2]

Its southern terminus is in El Prado, NM, at U.S. Route 64 (US 64) and NM 150, at what is locally referred to as the “old blinking light” intersection, approximately four miles north of Taos.[3] From there, the state road heads north through Arroyo Hondo and then Questa, where it has a junction with NM 38. It then continues north to Costilla before its northern terminus at the Colorado state line where the road becomes Colorado State Highway 159 (SH 159).

The highway, which is makes up a short portion of the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway, loosely follows a portion of the Old Spanish National Historic Trail’s north branch.[4][5] It also goes through an area within Carson National Forest between Arroyo Hondo and Questa.

  1. ^ "NMDOT State Routes" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  2. ^ Plant, Geoffrey. "Questa highway memorializes late state senator". The Taos News. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  3. ^ Miller, John. "Three injured in crash at El Prado OBL intersection". The Taos News. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
  4. ^ "Trail Brochures". Old Spanish Trail National Historic Trail, National Park Service. Retrieved Dec 27, 2022.
  5. ^ "The Old Spanish Trail Interactive Map". Old Spanish National Historic Trail, National Park Service. Retrieved 2022-12-27.