Arizona State Route

The U.S. state of Arizona's State Routes are usually abbreviated as SR.

History

The Arizona State Highway system was introduced on September 9, 1927, by the State Highway Commission (formed on August 11 of the same year). It incorporated the new federal aid system and also the U.S. Highway system. The 1927 plan included 27 state routes, most of which were simply dirt roads. Until 1942, the state route marker signs contained a Native American swastika that were used by Navajos, but were removed after the U.S.'s entry into World War II against Nazi Germany which had a reversed swastika as its emblem and became strongly negatively associated with the Nazis.

The modern system was introduced and adopted in the 1950s.

Designations and nomenclatures

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) internally recognizes Interstate Highways, U.S. Highways and Arizona Highways as all being separate types of highway designations. State highways within Arizona are referred to as Arizona State Routes or State Routes, with the prefix "SR" being used for abbreviations. ADOT also recognizes seven different types of suffixed routes for the U.S. Highways and State Routes. The recognized suffixes consist of the following with "(Number)" filling in for a numeric designation:
* Alternate (A) – Referred to as "State Route (Number)A" and abbreviated as "SR (Number)A".
* Business Route (B) – Referred to as "State Business Route (Number)" and abbreviated as "SR (Number)B" or "SR (Number) Bus.".
* Loop Route (L) – Referred to as "State Loop Route (Number)" and abbreviated as "SR (Number)L". Despite often having "Loop" within their titles, SR 101, SR 202 and SR 303 are not considered "Loop Routes" by ADOT, nor are Interstate Business Loops. To date, SR 89L has been the only Loop Route recognized by ADOT.
* Spur (S) – Referred to as "State Route (Number) Spur" and abbreviated as "SR (Number)S" or "SR (Number) Spur".
* Truck (T) – Referred to as "State Route (Number) Truck" and abbreviated as "SR (Number) Truck".
* Temporary (X) – Publicly referred to as "State Route (Number) Temporary" or "State Route (Number)T" and abbreviated "SR (Number)T". Internally referred to as "State Route (Number)X" and abbreviated "SR (Number)X".
* Wye Leg (Y) – Referred to as "State Route (Number)Y" and abbreviated "SR (Number)Y".

U.S. Highways can also use the same suffixes listed above. Usually the suffixed routes are recognized by ADOT as U.S. Highways. For example, the Alternate route of U.S. Route 89 (US 89) is referred to as U.S. Route 89A (US 89A) instead of State Route 89A (SR 89A). The only exception to this rule is SR 93X, which is a suffixed route of US 93. Suffixed routes for Interstates are a different story. Although the suffixed routes are signed with Interstate green Business shields, they are recognized by ADOT as suffixed State Routes. In the field, Interstate 10 business routes are signed as Interstate 10 Business Loop or Interstate 10 Business Spur, while they are referred to by ADOT as "State Business Route 10" (SR 10B) and "State Route 10 Spur" (SR 10 Spur). The same principle applies with business routes for all other Interstates in Arizona.

Designations listed under Highway Logs and GIS data however, use the Arizona Transportation Information System (ATIS) nomenclature. The ATIS designation for a non-suffixed state route is "S (Number)". The number at the end is always three digits long. As such, all two digit routes are referred to under the ATIS terminology as "S 0(Number)". SR 260 and SR 79 are known under ATIS nomenclature as "S 260" and "S 079" respectively. U.S. Highways replace the prefix "S" used by State Routes under the ATIS nomenclature with "U" while Interstate Highways use the prefix "I". Suffixed routes under ATIS always have the internally applied suffix between the prefix. State Business Route 79 under ATIS nomenclature is referred to as "SB079" and SR 93X is "SX093".

Numbering System

The System

The numbering system for the state routes, with exceptions, prefers using numbers 60-99 for the routes, except when taken by an applicable US Route. Freeway state route numbers are hand-picked numbers below 60, with 24, 30, 50, and 51, being the chosen numbers. Loop freeways (Loop 101, Loop 202, Loop 303) follow a predictable (X0X) pattern, increasing both in the order of when they were constructed and distance from the city's center. Freeways near Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport were given the numbers of 143 and 153.

History and Exceptions

In 1927, when the system was created, the first ten state routes were added, in conjunction with the already existing US Routes. Six of these routes ( 73, 82, 83, 84, 87 and 88) still exist today. As the system grew and expanded throughout the decades, more and more routes were added. A notable development came in 1932, when the first 3 digit spur route was added, State Route 287, a spur of Route 87. As the system continued to grow and evolve, some routes were decommissioned, and their numbers were re-used for future highways, as due to the limitations, limited numbers were available. As US routes began being decommissioned due to the rise of the Interstate Highway System, old alignments were often added to the state route system, keeping the number of the old US Highway, as a state route, all falling in the 60-99 range. As the system started to run out of numbers, more and more spur routes began being added to the system, which sometimes did not connect to their true parent, but rather, "in the vicinity" of the route. In 1974, the last 60-99 number was added to the system, State Route 98. The passage of Proposition 300 brought proper freeways to the valley, spelling the end of the state route system, since as mentioned above, state route freeways follow their own numbering rules, and State Route 143 in 1985 marked the first non-spur route to fall outside of the 60-99 system. The true end of the system occurred one year later, when State Route 238 (a non-freeway) was added, given the number seemingly at random, rather than "94" as proposed. Since 98 was added in 1974, all routes added to the system have either been freeways, spurs, small three-digit stubs, or de-commissioned US routes. Since the program's inception in 1927, all numbers between 60 and 99 were used by at least one State or US Route, aside from 94.

State Routes

Unbuilt routes

Some routes listed here were eventually constructed using other route numbers.

Arizona Parkways, Historic and Scenic Roads

Currently, the Arizona Department of Transportation recognizes 26 state designated routes under the Parkways, Historic and Scenic Roads Program. Four are Historic Roads, 17 are Scenic Roads and five are Parkways.

Parkways

* Kaibab Plateau-North Rim Parkway – From US 89A to the Grand Canyon National Park boundary.
* Organ Pipe Cactus Parkway – From Why to Mexico.
* Sky Island Parkway – From Catalina Highway at the Coronado National Forest boundary to General Hitchcock Highway in Summerhaven
* Swift Trail Parkway – From SR 366 near US 191 to the western terminus of SR 366.

Historic Roads

* Apache Trail Historic Road – From SR 88 in Goldfield to SR 188 in Roosevelt
* Historic Route 66 – From I-40 in Topock to I-40 in Holbrook (In discontinuous sections connected together by I-40)
* Historic U.S. Route 80 – From Yuma to NM 80 in New Mexico (Discontinuous sections connected together by I-8 and I-10)
* Jerome-Clarkdale-Cottonwood Historic Road (Historic US 89A) – From SR 89A in Jerome to SR 89A at the Coconino National Forest boundary.

Scenic Roads

* Copper Corridor Scenic Road – SR 177 Section: From US 60 in Superior to SR 177 in Kearny. SR 77 Section: From SR 77 inside Tonto National Forest to SR 77 south of Dudleyville.
* Coronado Trail Scenic Road – From US 191 near Springerville to US 191 near Morenci.
* Desert Tall Pines Scenic Road – Entire length of SR 288.
* Diné Tah Among The People Scenic Road – From N-64 in Chinle to N-12 at I-40 near Lupton. (In two discontinuous sections, connected by N-12 through New Mexico)
* Fredonia-Vermilion Cliffs Scenic Road – From US 89A in Colorado City to US 89 in Bitter Springs.
* Gila-Pinal Scenic Road – From US 60 in Florence to US 60 at the Tonto National Forest boundary near Miami.
* Joshua Forest Scenic Road – From US 93 in Wikieup to US 93 in Wickenburg.
* Kayenta-Monument Valley Scenic Road – From US 160 in Kayenta to US 163 in Utah.
* Mingus Mountain Scenic Road – From SR 89A in Jerome to SR 89A at the Coconino National Forest boundary.
* Naat'tsis'aan Navajo Mountain Scenic Road – From SR 98 in Lechee to US 160.
* Patagonia-Sonoita Scenic Road – From SR 83 at I-10 in Vail to SR 82 near Nogales.
* Red Rock All American Road – From SR 179 in Sedona to SR 179 near I-17.
* San Francisco Peaks Scenic Road – From US 180 in Flagstaff to US 180 near Valle.
* Sedona-Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Road – From SR 89A in Sedona to SR 89A milepost 390 inside Coconino National Forest.
* Tse'nikani Flat Mesa Rock Scenic Road – From US 160 near Mexican Water to US 191 near Many Farms.
* White Mountain Scenic Road – From SR 260 in McNary to the SR 260 junction with SR 261, full length of SR 273 and Full length of SR 261.
* White River Scenic Road – From SR 260 near McNary to SR 73 in White River.

See also

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References

Arizona DOT Highway Log

Arizona DOT Right-of-Way Resolutions
(Works Consulting LLC)

External links

AARoads Arizona Highways Page

{{Scenic Byways

State routes