Transportation in Arizona - Roads and Freeways

Roads and Freeways

Main interstate routes include I-17, and I-19 running north-south, I-40, I-8, and I-10 running east-west, and a short stretch of I-15 running northeast/southwest through the extreme northwestern corner of the state.

Phoenix is served by a combination of interstates, U.S. Highways, and state routes, many of which were funded by a ½ cent general sales tax measure approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985. New freeways are constantly being added to the area, such as Loop 101, Loop 202, and eventually SR 24 and SR 30. Currently, two major interstates serve the area, Interstate 10 and Interstate 17. In the past decade, more than 100 miles of new freeway have been constructed in the metro-Phoenix region by ADOT.

The Tucson metropolitan area is primarily served by I-10, I-19 and State Route 77. I-19 departs from I-10 in the southern part of Tucson, runs through southern Tucson (including an exit serving the historic Mission San Xavier) and the retirement community of Green Valley and terminates in Nogales, in Santa Cruz County, at the international border with Mexico. Destination signs on I-19 have metric distance figures in kilometers instead of standard miles. State Route 77 serves North Tucson and Tucson's northern suburbs including Casas Adobes, Catalina Foothills, Oro Valley, and Catalina. State Route 77 continues northward until it terminates at the Navajo Indian Reservation in northeastern Arizona.

State Route 210 (Barraza-Aviation Parkway) is a limited-access parkway built in the early 1990s to connect downtown Tucson to the southeastern portion of the city. Few new limited-access roads are in the plans in Tucson due to strong community opposition to freeways. However, a large-scale reconstruction and expansion of Interstate 10 was supported and completed in mid-2009.

Yuma is served by I-8, while Casa Grande served by I-8 and I-10; Flagstaff is served by I-17 and I-40. U.S. Route 95 parallels the Colorado River, from Las Vegas to the Mexican border near Yuma.

Historic U.S. Route 66, a major route for Midwestern emigrants prior to the advent of the interstate highway system, traversed the northern part of the state, passing through Flagstaff and Kingman. Route 66 in Arizona closely followed the route of what is now Interstate 40 except for an 88 mile stretch between Seligman and Kingman now known as State Route 66, where the route veered to the north passing through Peach Springs.