U.S. Route 60 in Arizona

U.S. Route 60
Route information
Maintained by ADOT
Length:	369.30 mi[1] (594.33 km)
Existed:	1932 – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-10 near Quartzsite
	US 93 at Wickenburg I-17 in Phoenix I-10 from Phoenix to Tempe US 70 in Globe US 180 / US 191 near Springerville
East end:	US 60 at New Mexico state line
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Bannered Divided Replaced Arizona Highways Interstate U.S. State Unconstructed Former ← SR 51 SR 61 → ← SR 347 360 SR 364 →

View east along Route 60, Phoenix

U.S. Route 60 (US 60) is an east–west United States Highway within Arizona. The highway runs for 369 miles (594 km) from a junction with Interstate 10 near Quartzsite to the New Mexico State Line near Springerville. As it crosses the state, US 60 overlaps at various points: I-17, I-10, SR 77, SR 260, US 191, and US 180. Between Wickenburg and Phoenix, the route is known as Grand Avenue (or the Phoenix–Wickenburg Highway). From Tempe to Apache Junction, it is known as the Superstition Freeway.

Route description

I-10 to Wickenburg

The western terminus of US 60 is located at an interchange with I-10 east of Quartzite. It heads northeast from this junction to Vicksburg Junction where it curves towards the east. It continues to the east to Hope where it intersects SR 72. East of Hope, the highway briefly curves towards the north-northeast before curving towards the northeast. It continues this direction until it reaches Aguila. The highway heads east to an intersection with SR 71 after passing through Aguila. US 60 continues towards the east until it reaches Wickenburg and an intersection with US 93. From Wickenburg, the highway heads towards the southeast towards Phoenix. It has an intersection with SR 74 in Morristown as it continues towards the southeast.

Grand Avenue

As US 60 enters the Phoenix metropolitan area, It intersects Loop 303 in Surprise where it becomes Grand Avenue as it continues southeast. It continues to a junction with Loop 101 (Agua Fria Freeway) in Peoria before heading through Glendale. The highway enters the Phoenix city limits and continues towards the southeast until it reaches an interchange with 27th Avenue near Thomas Road.

Improvements to the Grand Avenue portion of US 60, which were included in the Maricopa Association of Governments' 20-year Regional Transportation Plan, have been made. Among such improvements is the reducing of many of the busiest six-legged intersections to four-legged intersections by constructing overpasses, underpasses, and access roads.

US 60 Marker

I-17/I-10 concurrencies

After briefly heading south along 27th Ave., US 60 turns left onto Thomas Rd. for ¹⁄₄ mile (0.40 km) until it reaches I-17. At I-17 the highway begins to run concurrently with I-17 towards the south. It passes through an I-10 interchange known as "The Stack." US 60 continues to run concurrent with I-17 around the Durango Curve and continues east until it again reaches I-10 at the interchange known as "The Split." US 60 begins to run concurrently towards the east with I-10 after the interchange. Along the freeway, US 60 passes along the south side of the airport and over a bridge traversing the Salt River. Once over the river, the freeway continues towards Tempe to an interchange with SR 143. The freeway curves back towards the south following the SR 143 interchange.

Superstition Freeway

After the curve, I-10 and US 60 part ways in Tempe, with I-10 continuing towards the south and US 60 now heading east along the Superstition Freeway. The freeway continues towards the east to a second interchange with Loop 101 (Price Freeway). The freeway enters Mesa city limits after the interchange as it continues towards the east to the SuperRedTan interchange with Loop 202. The freeway enters the city limits of Apache Junction in Pinal County as it continues eastbound. The freeway portion of the highway ends in Apache Junction as US 60 curves towards the southeast.

Apache Junction to the state line

US 60 Marker

The highway continues towards the southeast passing through Gold Canyon to an interchange with SR 79 at Florence Junction. US 60 curves towards the east at this junction as it heads to Superior and an interchange with SR 177. From Superior the highway begins to head towards the northeast to Miami and Claypool. It continues to a junction with SR 188 before passing through Midland City and turning towards the south towards Globe. US 60 curves back towards the east in Globe and continues to an intersection with US 70 and SR 77. US 60 heads northeast from the intersection concurrent with SR 77. The two highways curve towards the north before curving back towards the northeast as they head towards Show Low. As the highway continues towards the northeast it enters the San Carlos Indian Reservation. Within the reservation, the highway goes through a series of hairpin turns as it enters the Salt River Canyon. After descending into the canyon, the highway passes over the Salt River and enters the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. The highway continues towards the northeast and enters Navajo County before reaching an intersection with SR 73. It continues northeast from this intersection to the city of Show Low.

In Show Low, US 60 intersects SR 260 and briefly runs concurrently with SR 260 as it heads northeast through the city. The concurrency with SR 77 also ends in Show Low as SR 77 heads north to Snowflake and US 60 continues towards the east. US 60 leaves the Show Low city limits and heads east to a junction with SR 61 which heads northeast towards Concho. US 60 continues east from this intersection before curving towards the southeast as it heads towards Springerville.

As it enters the Springerville city limits, it intersects and begins to run concurrently with US 180 and US 191. The three highways continue along the same alignment through Springerville, passing over the Little Colorado River. As the three highways continue through the city, they eventually split with US 180 and US 191 heading south towards Alpine and US 60 continuing towards the east. US 60 continues towards the east leaving the Springerville city limits and crossing over the state line into New Mexico.^[1][2]

History

In 1927, what is now US 60 was signed as or roughly followed by SR 74 between the California border near Ehrenburg and Wickenburg, US 89 from Wickenburg to Florence Junction, US 80 from Phoenix to Florence Junction, US 180 from Florence Junction to Globe and US 70 between Springerville and the New Mexico border. The segment of highway between Springerville and Globe had not been constructed yet.^[3][4][5] US 60 was extended into Arizona in 1932, from its original western terminus at US 66 in Springfield, Missouri.^[6] While what is now US 60 was under construction between Globe and Springerville, US 60 was temporarily routed down SR 73 as US 60T through San Carlos and McNary. The current route through Show Low was completed sometime between 1935 and 1938.^[7] US 60 through Arizona has had far fewer major changes than some other U.S. routes, but one notable example is being replaced by Interstate 10 between Los Angeles, California, and the highway's current terminus near Quartzsite. US 60 is now the only U.S. Route to serve Phoenix. US 70 (decom. 1969), US 80 (decom. 1977) & US 89 (decom. 1992) have all been truncated outside of Phoenix. The only other major change was being realigned from an "in-town" route along city arterials through Mesa, Tempe, and Phoenix to the old SR 360 alignment a few miles south and merging with I-10 and I-17 into Downtown Phoenix.^[6]

The Pinto Creek Bridge in 1955.

In 1949, the Pinto Creek Bridge won an Annual Award of Merit for being the "most beautiful steel bridge", given by the American Institute of Steel Construction.^[6]

In 1952, the Claypool Tunnel was bypassed by the Queen Creek Tunnel, upgrading from a simple 'hole in the rock' type tunnel to a more modern tunnel.^[6]

Present

US 60 shield used from 1926 to 1955

In recent years, Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has been working to widen and improve US 60 through the Metropolitan Phoenix Area, as it is one of the area's principal freeways. Along the Superstition Freeway segment in the East Valley between I-10 and Loop 202, ADOT has completed its project of adding additional general purpose lanes (6 total plus an HOV in each direction), adding auxiliary lanes between exits, improving sound barriers, replacing signs, improving lighting conditions, adding rubberized asphalt to reduce noise, adding variable message signs, installing cameras, and adding traffic sensors.^[8] A new partial interchange at Meridian Road, along the Maricopa–Pinal county line, opened in October 2015.^[9]

Directional colored shields found on US 60 in Arizona during the 1950s.

Along the Grand Avenue segment in Phoenix, ADOT has been widening portions of Grand Avenue in addition to constructing additional overpasses and underpasses at six former six-way intersections to improve traffic flow along US 60 in the Northwest Valley.^[10]

ADOT is currently in the study phase of adding additional lanes between Loop 101 and Loop 303 in the far West Valley.

An unsigned U.S. Route 60X is also listed by ADOT. US 60X is divided into two discontinuous segments, both of which are located within Maricopa County in the Phoenix area. Both sections of US 60X were portions of the pre-freeway alignment of US 60 between Apache Junction and central Phoenix.^[11] US 60X begins near Grand Avenue and Thomas Road, where it shares Exit 160 (27th Avenue to Thomas Rd.) with US 60. It then follows Grand Ave. southeast over I-17/US 60 to an intersection with 18th Avenue and Willetta Street where the western segment terminates.^[12] Access to I-17 is via Thomas Rd. by way of either 24th Avenue or 27th Ave. US 60X(1) picks up at Sossaman Road, traveling east across Apache Trail crossing Loop 202 and Ellsworth Road before terminating at Meridian Drive (the Pinal County line).^[12][13]

Future

Due to rapid growth in the far eastern Phoenix suburbs within Pinal County and increasing road congestion in the Gold Canyon area, ADOT has begun to study potential freeway-grade realignments of US 60 past the current eastern terminus of the Superstition Freeway in Apache Junction. The new freeway alignment would bypass the existing at-grade section of US 60 through Gold Canyon, and would either rejoin the existing alignment southeast of town (in the vicinity of the Arizona Renaissance Festival grounds) or at the newly constructed freeway-grade junction with SR 79 at Florence Junction.^[14] This new alignment could also potentially serve as the northern terminus of the proposed Pinal North-South Freeway.

Major intersections

Only the freeway portion of US 60 east of the I-10 interchange has exit numbers, except for a few exits on the lower section of Grand Avenue, and the interchange with SR 79. All other segments are standard divided or undivided highways with uncontrolled access.^[15] The mileposts were not renumbered after the western leg was truncated, so they begin at milepost 30.89. Mileposts for US 60 are not logged on overlaps with Interstate highways, except at the junction of I-10 and I-17.

County	Location	mi[1][16]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
La Paz	Brenda	30.89	49.71		I-10 – Phoenix, Los Angeles	Western terminus; exit 31 on I-10
	Hope	49.55	79.74		SR 72 west – Parker	Eastern terminus of SR 72
Maricopa	Aguila	86.07	138.52		SR 71 north – Prescott	Southern terminus of SR 71
	Wickenburg	110.24	177.41		Washington Street	Interchange; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		110.27	177.46		Museum, Parking	Interchange; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		110.33	177.56		US 93 north – Kingman, Las Vegas	Traffic circle; southern terminus of US 93
	Morristown	120.11	193.30		SR 74 east to I-17	Western terminus of SR 74
	Sun City West	138.48	222.86		Loop 303 (Bob Stump Memorial Parkway) to I-10	Via access road; future interchange once Loop 303 is converted into a freeway
	Surprise	142.75	229.73		Bell Road	Future interchange[17]
	Peoria	148.90	239.63		Loop 101 south (Agua Fria Freeway)	Exit 11 on Loop 101
		149.23	240.16		To Loop 101 north / 91st Avenue
		151.97	244.57		Olive Avenue / 75th Avenue	Interchange with Olive Avenue; at-grade intersection with 75th Avenue
	Glendale	153.35	246.79		Northern Avenue / 67th Avenue	Interchange with 67th Avenue; at-grade intersection with Northern Avenue
		154.74	249.03	Tunnel underneath 59th Avenue / Glendale Avenue intersection
		155.41	250.11		55th Avenue north to Maryland Avenue	Interchange; westbound exit and entrance
		156.21	251.40		Bethany Home Road / 51st Avenue	Interchange with 51st Avenue; at-grade intersection with Bethany Home Road
		157.40	253.31	157	43rd Avenue	Interchange; no westbound exit
	Phoenix	157.59	253.62		Camelback Road	Interchange; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		159.01	255.90		35th Avenue / Indian School Road	Interchange with Indian School Road; at-grade intersection with 35th Avenue
		160.09	257.64	160	Grand Avenue southeast – Downtown Phoenix	Interchange; US 60 (east) splits from Grand Avenue, which becomes unsigned US 60X; exit 160 on US 60X
		160.63	258.51		I-17 north (Black Canyon Freeway) – Flagstaff	Western terminus of I-17 concurrency; interchange ; exit 201 on I-17
				200B	McDowell Road / Van Buren Street	No signage for Van Buren Street westbound; exit numbers follow I-17
				200A	I-10 – Central Phoenix, Los Angeles	I-10 exit 143
				199B	Adams Street / Van Buren Street	Westbound exit and entrance only
					Jefferson Street	Eastbound exit only
				199A	Grant Street / Buckeye Road	No signage for Buckeye Road westbound
				198	Buckeye Road	Westbound exit only
				197	Durango Street / 19th Avenue	Durango Curve; no signage for Durango Street westbound
				Southern end of Black Canyon Freeway; western end of Maricopa Freeway
				196	7th Avenue / Central Avenue	No signage for Central Avenue westbound
				195B	7th Street / Central Avenue	No signage for Central Avenue eastbound
				195A	16th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		168.28	270.82	194 150A	I-17 ends / I-10 west (Inner Loop) – Sky Harbor	Eastern terminus of I-17 concurrency; southern terminus of I-17; western terminus of I-10 concurrency; exit numbers follow I-10 (beginning with 150A)
				150B	24th Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				Bridge over the Salt River
				151	University Drive / 32nd Street
				152	40th Street
	Phoenix–Tempe line			153A	SR 143 north (Hohokam Expressway) / 48th Street south / Broadway Road – Sky Harbor Airport	Signed as exit 153 eastbound; Broadway Road not signed westbound; exits 1A-B on SR 143
	Tempe			153B	Broadway Road / 52nd Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		171.63	276.21	—	I-10 east (Maricopa Freeway) – Tucson	Eastern terminus of I-10 concurrency; exit 154 on I-10; unsigned left exit 171 on US 60 west; eastbound entrance from I-10 west includes direct entrance ramp from Baseline Road
				Western end of Superstition Freeway
		172.52	277.64	172	Priest Drive – Arizona Mills Mall	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		173.67	279.49	173	Mill Avenue	Arizona State University, Downtown Tempe
		174.42	280.70	174	Rural Road
		175.41	282.30	175	McClintock Drive
		176.44– 176.47	283.95– 284.00	176	Loop 101 (Price Freeway) – Scottsdale, Chandler	Signed as 176A (south) and 176B (north); Loop 101 exits 55A-B
	Mesa	177.43	285.55	177	Dobson Road	Mesa Community College
		178.41	287.12	178	Alma School Road
		179.41	288.73	179	SR 87 (Country Club Drive) – Chandler
		180.36	290.26	180	Mesa Drive
		181.41	291.95	181	Stapley Drive
		182.40	293.54	182	Gilbert Road
		184.39	296.75	184	Val Vista Drive
		185.39	298.36	185	Greenfield Road	Mesa Falcon Field
		186.38	299.95	186	Higley Road
		187.87	302.35	187	Superstition Springs Boulevard	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		188.38	303.17	188	Power Road	Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, ASU Polytechnic
		189.38	304.78	189	Sossaman Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		190.42– 190.60	306.45– 306.74	190	Loop 202 – Gilbert, Mesa	SuperRedTan Interchange; signed as exits 190A (north) and 190B (south) eastbound; Loop 202 exits 30A-B
		191.39	308.01	191	Ellsworth Road
		192.39	309.62	192	Crismon Road
		193.40	311.25	193	Signal Butte Road
Maricopa–Pinal county line	Mesa–Apache Junction line	194.41	312.87	194	Meridian Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Pinal	Apache Junction	195.41	314.48	195	Ironwood Drive
		196.41	316.09	196	SR 88 east (Idaho Road)	Salt River Lakes, Roosevelt Dam, Apache Trail Highway
		197.41	317.70	197	Tomahawk Road
		198.41	319.31	198	Goldfield Road
		199.17	320.53	199	Old West Highway	Westbound exit only
		199.44	320.97		Mountain View Road	Eastern end of Superstition Freeway; traffic light
	Florence Junction	212.27	341.62	212	SR 79 south – Florence, Tucson	Interchange; northern terminus of SR 79
	Superior	226.87	365.11		SR 177 south / Ray Road north – Winkelman	Interchange; northern terminus of SR 177
Gila	Central Heights	247.04	397.57		SR 188 north – Young, Theodore Roosevelt Dam	Southern terminus of SR 188
	Globe	252.05	405.64		US 70 / SR 77 south – Safford, Winkelman	Western terminus of SR 77 concurrency; western terminus of US 70;
Navajo	​	318.14	512.00		SR 73 east	Western terminus of SR 73
	Show Low	339.72	546.73		SR 260 west (Clark Road) – Heber-Overgaard	Western terminus of SR 260 concurrency
		341.69	549.90		SR 260 east (White Mountain Road) – Pinetop-Lakeside, Springerville	Eastern terminus of SR 260 concurrency
		342.25	550.80		SR 77 north (Penrod Road) – Holbrook	Eastern terminus of SR 77 concurrency
Apache	Bell	353.16	568.36		SR 61 east – St. Johns	Partial interchange; western terminus of SR 61
	​	384.45	618.71		US 180 west / US 191 north – St. Johns	Western terminus of US 180/US 191 concurrency
	Springerville	387.83	624.15		To SR 73 / SR 260 / South Mountain Avenue – Pinetop-Lakeside, Show Low
		388.69	625.54		US 180 east / US 191 south – Alpine	Eastern terminus of US 180/US 191 concurrency
		401.97	646.91		US 60 east – Quemado	Continuation into New Mexico
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Route transition       Unopened

See also

• SuperRedTan Interchange
• Superstition Mountains
• Metropolitan Phoenix freeways

References

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Media related to U.S. Route 60 in Arizona at Wikimedia Commons

U.S. Route 60
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