State Road 53
NM-53 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NMDOT
Length	86.002 mi[1] (138.407 km)
Major junctions
West end	SR 61 at the Arizona border
Major intersections	NM 36 east-northeast of Zuni I-40 in Grants
East end	NM 122 in Grants
Location
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
Counties	Cibola, McKinley
Highway system
New Mexico State Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
← NM 52 → US 54

NM 53 eastbound near the Arizona border.

State Road 53 (NM 53) is a state highway in the US state of New Mexico. Its total length is approximately 86 miles (138 km). NM 53's western terminus is a continuation as Arizona State Route 61 (AZ 61) at the Arizona border west-southwest of Zuni, and the eastern terminus at NM 122 in the village of Grants.

History

NM 53 approaching Zuni Pueblo

NM 53 was originally the east end of NM 54 and then after 1927 a short route extending west from Grants, it was extended over old NM 36 to the Arizona border by the 1940s. It was renamed as NM 53 to avoid confusion with U.S. Route 54 (US 54). In the 1940s, NM 53 was extended northeast from Milan to San Mateo, a small town near Mt. Taylor. The segment from Milan to San Mateo was renumbered NM 605 in 1988.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[2]	km	Destinations	Notes
McKinley	​	0.000	0.000	SR 61 south	Continuation into Arizona
	​	21.147	34.033	NM 602 north	Southern terminus of NM 602
	​	21.614	34.784	NM 36 south	Northern terminus of NM 36
Cibola	Grants	85.600– 85.700	137.760– 137.921	I-40 – Albuquerque, Gallup	I-40 exit 81
		86.002	138.407	Historic US 66 (NM 122)	Eastern terminus; serves Cibola General Hospital; road continues north unpaved as Lava Road
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• List of state roads in New Mexico

References

External links

Media related to New Mexico State Road 53 at Wikimedia Commons