AS OF SEPTEMBER 18, 2018, US 80 IS NOW AN OFFICIAL STATE HISTORIC ROUTE IN ARIZONA
Current status of the effort:
Effort leader and Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation CEO Demion Clinco is working with the state of New Mexico to get US 80 designated as historic in that state. He is also working to form a US 80 association for the highway in Arizona. I'm helping out by updating information on Wikipedia, writing newspaper articles, articles on highly viewed travel blogs and generally just spreading the word any means possible.
Here is a blueprint document of the official Historic US 80 marker as released by ADOT to road enthusiast Richard Moeur who shared it with me on Facebook:
(https://scontent.fphx1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/43120736_10213603355024322_7643491290801242112_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&oh=bd9ae88b41caa88d0520bd4a46d59136&oe=5C15BD27)
ORIGINAL POST:
So apparently this is happening:
https://preservetucson.org/stories/historic-arizona-u-s-route-80-designation/
https://preservetucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Arizona-Historic-US-Route-80-Applicaiton-Submitted-to-ADOT-July-2016-small-file-for-web2.pdf
Given the news is now over two months old, I tried contacting the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation about this over Facebook Messenger (where they usually answer questions rather than email for some reason) and the program showed they just outright ignored my question after reading it. It took them over a year to post an update on this project too. All I know in latest news is the proposal was voted on in October apparently but the decision hasn't been released to the public literally anywhere since then. I mean good gracious, is it that hard to tell people what's going on with US 80?
I sincerely hope this does pass. If not, I can't say any future Historic US 80 preservation attempts going anywhere without Arizona's involvement, considering some of the most tourist attractive parts of US 80 are in Arizona. I can also say that a number of towns and cities which have signed letters of full support to this effect would be unhappy as well (except for Phoenix area cities, which don't rely off tourist income and Tombstone where they have the OK Corral and Wyatt Earp related history to bring people in).
Really it would be nice to have historic signage on all parts of US 80 which can still be driven still. It would be pretty cool to take an alternate route from Apache Junction to Gila Bend. Some of my early road albums were back in Arizona tracking down historical alignments of US 80 or places like the Gillespie Bridge:
(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2888/32687440643_2e42a37d80_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/RNtFhP)4249003475920 (https://flic.kr/p/RNtFhP) by Max Rockatansky (https://www.flickr.com/photos/151828809@N08/), on Flickr
I even have one of the colored US 80 shields in my collection at home:
(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2879/33179748310_68680dc262_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/SxYTd3)IMG_5241 (https://flic.kr/p/SxYTd3) by Max Rockatansky (https://www.flickr.com/photos/151828809@N08/), on Flickr
Sweet! I wish I was lucky enough to find one. I do have a 1961 MUTCD US 6 shield though. Its the centerpiece of my living room.
Quote from: 707 on December 23, 2017, 10:00:55 PM
Sweet! I wish I was lucky enough to find one. I do have a 1961 MUTCD US 6 shield though. Its the centerpiece of my living room.
It might make it's way into the new garage next week. I know for sure I have enough room for the California stuff and I believe maybe Arizona as well.
Here's a good update for the future of US 80 in AZ.
I just got in contact with Demion Clinco, the CEO of the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation. In an email conversation I had with him, he's stated ADOT is finalizing the needed paperwork and is aiming to approve US 80 as Arizona's third state recognized Historic US Route after old US 89A and US 66. Apparently the state owned segments will get signage first, then ADOT will start working with local entities that have taken over segments of old US 80 from ADOT to put signs up on non-state owned sections. Apparently the first local government ADOT is working with is the city of Tucson. I've also contacted author Jeff Jensen who wrote the great driving guide on US 80 through California to El Paso. In the last reply I received from him back in January, he's very excited and happy US 80 is getting the historic designation after years of attempts by numerous third parties.
So to sum it down for the too long didn't read-ers, ADOT is set to approve Historic US 80 this month and the city of Tucson might be the second to put up the signs after ADOT. Also made sure to put this new info on the US 80 in Arizona Wikipedia page and clean the page up to B status.
I'd be curious to see what the final signing product looks like. Hopefully it's better than what US 89A gets, those signs are getting pretty haggard.
I'm so happy to hear that another old US route gets recognized with historic markers. Long live US 80!
Agreed! In terms of the road itself, more of US 80 still exists uninterrupted in Arizona than US 66, mostly thanks to it's overly complicated and out of the way routing. By being the shortcuts, SR 84 and SR 86 were torn up and demolished in place of US 80 when I-8 and I-10 were built. You can literally drive more than 100 miles in Arizona on historic US 80 without ever seeing an Interstate.
VS988
Quote from: Henry on September 06, 2018, 10:06:31 AM
I'm so happy to hear that another old US route gets recognized with historic markers. Long live US 80!
Amen! This is terrific news! It will make following old 80 easier on me whenever I get the chance to follow it coast to coast. Perhaps when I retire in 16 years?
Confirmed by an update on the official Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation page on Facebook:
I am proud to announce as of September 21, 2018, US 80 has now been added as Arizona's fourth state recognized historic route under the ADOT Scenic Roads program. US 80 has officially returned in one form or another to the state between Yuma and the New Mexico border. Historic Route 80 now has 500 new miles to it, with the route in California, Louisiana and within Vicksburg, MS making up the rest.
Here's a newspaper article further confirmimg the news:
https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/old-us-route-80-designated-as-a-historic-road
Quote from: 707 on September 21, 2018, 08:38:18 PM
Confirmed by an update on the official Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation page on Facebook:
I am proud to announce as of September 21, 2018, US 80 has now been added as Arizona's fourth state recognized historic route under the ADOT Scenic Roads program. US 80 has officially returned in one form or another to the state between Yuma and the New Mexico border. Historic Route 80 now has 500 new miles to it, with the route in California, Louisiana and within Vicksburg, MS making up the rest.
Here's a newspaper article further confirmimg the news:
https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/old-us-route-80-designated-as-a-historic-road
Any idea what parts of US 80 will be signed as historic segments long term? It would be pretty cool to get all of Apache Train, Main, Van Buren, MC 85, and Old US 80 all signed with historic US 80 shields. Really I think the only parts of US 80 that can be reached as a route for the most part are along south I-8 near Gila Bend, Tacna and Aztec.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 21, 2018, 11:49:05 PM
Quote from: 707 on September 21, 2018, 08:38:18 PM
Confirmed by an update on the official Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation page on Facebook:
I am proud to announce as of September 21, 2018, US 80 has now been added as Arizona's fourth state recognized historic route under the ADOT Scenic Roads program. US 80 has officially returned in one form or another to the state between Yuma and the New Mexico border. Historic Route 80 now has 500 new miles to it, with the route in California, Louisiana and within Vicksburg, MS making up the rest.
Here's a newspaper article further confirmimg the news:
https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/old-us-route-80-designated-as-a-historic-road
Any idea what parts of US 80 will be signed as historic segments long term? It would be pretty cool to get all of Apache Train, Main, Van Buren, MC 85, and Old US 80 all signed with historic US 80 shields. Really I think the only parts of US 80 that can be reached as a route for the most part are along south I-8 near Gila Bend, Tacna and Aztec.
I've read some minutes from the ADOT meeting in January 2018. ADOT officials and THPF members discussing that back and forth. Also, going off Route 66 as an example, I imagine that any sections replaced or impassible by I-8 or I-10 will not be included. I think there was some mention by ADOT officials in the January meeting that there's a possibility US 60 between SR 88 and SR 79 could be left out. Though I really have my doubts they would do that. I should add though the proposed route sections the THPF documents seem to give mixed signals about Marsh Station Road near Vail. Given ADOT is using the materials provided by THPF as the main basis for their designation as well as Jeff Jensen's US 80 guide book, here are the sections I believe most certainly will be designated which is listed as the primary alignment:
(Starts at California state line on Quechan Reservation)
-Quechan Road/Penitentiary Avenue (1914 Ocean to Ocean Bridge route) - Looks like they're skipping the 4th Avenue bridge all together
-1st Avenue
-4th Avenue and BL I-8 out of Yuma
(I-8)
-Old US 80 through Wellton and Tacna
(I-8)
-Old US 80 between Dateland and Aztec (yes, the south frontage road to Aztec is indeed part of old US 80)
(I-8)
-South I-8 Frontage Road from Theba to the western terminus of I-8 Business at Gila Bend
-Gila Street/BL 8
(The primary route splits here)
Route 1:
-Old US 80 to Arlington
-Wilson Road
-Hazen Road
Route 2:
-AZ 85 from Gila Bend to Hazen Road
(End split)
-AZ 85
-MC 85/Baseline Road/Buckeye Road
(Split)
Former main US 80:
-17th Avenue
Fomer US 80A:
-19th Avenue
-Van Buren Street
(End Split)
-Van Buren Street
-Mill Street in Tempe
-Main Street/Apache Trail/Old West Highway to Apache Junction
-US 60
-AZ 79 to Florence
-Butte Avenue
-AZ 79 Business
-AZ 79
-AZ 77 to Tucson
-Oracle Road
-Drachman Street
-Stone Avenue
-6th Avenue
-Benson Highway (including the north and south frontage roads of I-10 between Park and 6th)
(I-10)
-4th Avenue/BL I-10 in Benson
-SR 80 to Douglas
-G Avenue
-10th Street
-A Avenue
-SR 80
(End at New Mexico state line)
They listed the Old Divide/Main Street alignment in Bisbee and Marsh Station as "secondary alignments" along with pre-1928 US 80 to Dome. That concerns me a bit. I'm wondering if the secondary alignments will be ignored by ADOT, since the THPF added in a lot of the old Bankhead Highway, Old Spanish Trail and Dixie Overland Highway routes as secondaries, including some that are no longer passable. All those secondary routes added together would be enough to make a completely different route from the main US 80. I really hope they don't skip over Marsh Station. I have less concern over the Bisbee alignment given if ADOT skipped it, the town would obviously make them fix that, with Bisbee being an influential tourist town and county seat.
THPF Document being used by ADOT:
https://preservetucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Arizona-Historic-US-Route-80-Applicaiton-Submitted-to-ADOT-July-2016-small-file-for-web2.pdf
Any way you look at it, this is a rare discussion to have regarding Arizona; predicting the path of a newly designated Historic Route. This is the first time since 2003 that ADOT has designated a road as Historic and I don't see them doing that again any time soon.
Hopefully not going off-topic here, but what are the other three "Historic" routes designated by ADOT? I'm sure 66 is one of them. And are any of them signed?
Quote from: Sonic99 on September 22, 2018, 02:21:26 AM
Hopefully not going off-topic here, but what are the other three "Historic" routes designated by ADOT? I'm sure 66 is one of them. And are any of them signed?
Yes, Route 66 is one of the other three. ADOT's official name for it is "Historic Route 66 All American Road" (which is due to the fact Route 66 was designated an All American Road by the feds). The second is known officially as the "Jerome-Clarkdale-Cottonwood Historic Road" by ADOT, but is signed and known by everyone else as Historic US 89A. That designation picks up at a random milepost south of Jerome on SR 89A, then takes the old route of US 89A through Clarkdale and Cottonwood before ending at SR 89A and Cottonwood Street outside of Cottonwood. The last Historic Road on the list is SR 88 from Goldfield to SR 188 at Roosevelt Dam, known officially by ADOT as the "Apache Trail Historic Road". I have no proper sourcing to back this up, but I think ADOT may recognize US 80 as "Arizona US Route 80 Historic Road", which is a blind guess based on the names of the other roads and the fact the THPF and ADOT kept referring to it as "Historic Arizona US Route 80" when it was just a hypothetical road.
US 89A is gas Historic Signage as well.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 22, 2018, 04:00:11 AM
US 89A is gas Historic Signage as well.
That's what I love about Arizona's historic US Routes. They're signed like active highways, but they're not part of the normal stare highway system.
The ADOT managed Arizona Scenic Roads system is very interesting and from the material I've studied, appears to be another state highway system completely separate from the regular one. One big key difference though is these roads aren't always maintained or owned by ADOT and are more or less a combined collaborative effort between ADOT and local level DOTs.
https://www.azdot.gov/about/historic-roads/scenic-roads/guidance-maps-and-documents/maps-and-documents
Quote from: 707 on September 22, 2018, 05:37:56 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 22, 2018, 04:00:11 AM
US 89A is gas Historic Signage as well.
That's what I love about Arizona's historic US Routes. They're signed like active highways, but they're not part of the normal stare highway system.
The ADOT managed Arizona Scenic Roads system is very interesting and from the material I've studied, appears to be another state highway system completely separate from the regular one. One big key difference though is these roads aren't always maintained or owned by ADOT and are more or less a combined collaborative effort between ADOT and local level DOTs.
https://www.azdot.gov/about/historic-roads/scenic-roads/guidance-maps-and-documents/maps-and-documents
ADOT in general has always been very good at promoting scenic and historic highways. The agency is surprisingly willing to listen to local groups and even with work with them. I've had a couple interactions with ADOT over the years, I've never found them to be anything but approachable and welcoming of public comment. ADOT is the only agency I've also ever gotten serious feedback regarding historic alignments, most agencies won't give you the time of day or just give you lip service that they don't know/don't have the resources to look up anything historical.
The THPF just posted this map on their Facebook page. The segments in red are ADOT owned and will be signed. The segments in blue are locally owned and will be signed in a joint effort by ADOT and the respective agency for each area (for example, MCDOT in parts of Maricopa County). The areas in yellow are part of Historic US 80, but will not be signed (which are concurrencies with I-8 abd I-10). They skipped Marsh Station Road entirely.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180923/17dd52f3a04ffe10e8b4865c21a469ff.jpg)
VS988
I'm okay with not signing glorified frontage roads that are crumbling alongside I-8 but Marsh Station is enough of a divergence of I-10 that it should be signed.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 23, 2018, 11:13:44 AM
I'm okay with not signing glorified frontage roads that are crumbling alongside I-8 but Marsh Station is enough of a divergence of I-10 that it should be signed.
Looking closely at the map, I dont even think Marsh Station Road is included in the historic route designation period.
ADOT did a great job getting their priorities straight with the rest of the route so far (the map somewhat implies Main Street in Bisbee is added), but not including Marsh Station ridiculous.
Quote from: 707 on September 23, 2018, 11:58:41 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 23, 2018, 11:13:44 AM
I'm okay with not signing glorified frontage roads that are crumbling alongside I-8 but Marsh Station is enough of a divergence of I-10 that it should be signed.
Looking closely at the map, I dont even think Marsh Station Road is included in the historic route designation period.
ADOT did a great job getting their priorities straight with the rest of the route so far (the map somewhat implies Main Street in Bisbee is added), but not including Marsh Station ridiculous.
Davidson Canyon makes it worthwhile enough to sign just direct people to this view:
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.0200119,-110.6462326,3a,75y,37.24h,114.78t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPLo7GLfiQMuxue2aFm0xPVm22dcFZ6X_3JYGIr!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPLo7GLfiQMuxue2aFm0xPVm22dcFZ6X_3JYGIr%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya183.40149-ro0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352?hl=en
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 23, 2018, 12:09:41 PM
Quote from: 707 on September 23, 2018, 11:58:41 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 23, 2018, 11:13:44 AM
I'm okay with not signing glorified frontage roads that are crumbling alongside I-8 but Marsh Station is enough of a divergence of I-10 that it should be signed.
Looking closely at the map, I dont even think Marsh Station Road is included in the historic route designation period.
ADOT did a great job getting their priorities straight with the rest of the route so far (the map somewhat implies Main Street in Bisbee is added), but not including Marsh Station ridiculous.
Davidson Canyon makes it worthwhile enough to sign just direct people to this view:
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.0200119,-110.6462326,3a,75y,37.24h,114.78t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPLo7GLfiQMuxue2aFm0xPVm22dcFZ6X_3JYGIr!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPLo7GLfiQMuxue2aFm0xPVm22dcFZ6X_3JYGIr%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya183.40149-ro0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352?hl=en
Plus the fact Cienega Bridge is on the NRHP.
In any direction, the THPF is planning on forming a booster group to manage Historic US 80 as well as trying to convince New Mexico and Texas to join in.
I got an update from the THPF. They alerted me Marsh Station Road is going to be added, it just doesn't show up on the map for some reason. Their reply to me was:
"Marsh Station Road is included - it's just not on this ADOT map. All non-ADOT managed segments were designated and all ADOT managed sections except those that overlap with I-10 and I-8."
I believe that also means the south frontage road from Theba to Gila Bend will be added too.
Quote from: 707 on September 24, 2018, 02:45:13 AM
I got an update from the THPF. They alerted me Marsh Station Road is going to be added, it just doesn't show up on the map for some reason. Their reply to me was:
"Marsh Station Road is included - it's just not on this ADOT map. All non-ADOT managed segments were designated and all ADOT managed sections except those that overlap with I-10 and I-8."
I believe that also means the south frontage road from Theba to Gila Bend will be added too.
That's surprising to hear about I-8 frontage road considering the haggard shape it's in.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 24, 2018, 07:57:25 AM
Quote from: 707 on September 24, 2018, 02:45:13 AM
I got an update from the THPF. They alerted me Marsh Station Road is going to be added, it just doesn't show up on the map for some reason. Their reply to me was:
"Marsh Station Road is included - it's just not on this ADOT map. All non-ADOT managed segments were designated and all ADOT managed sections except those that overlap with I-10 and I-8."
I believe that also means the south frontage road from Theba to Gila Bend will be added too.
That's surprising to hear about I-8 frontage road considering the haggard shape it's in.
Very true, but maybe that will incentivise Maricopa County into repaving it?
VS988
Quote from: 707 on September 24, 2018, 11:50:37 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 24, 2018, 07:57:25 AM
Quote from: 707 on September 24, 2018, 02:45:13 AM
I got an update from the THPF. They alerted me Marsh Station Road is going to be added, it just doesn't show up on the map for some reason. Their reply to me was:
"Marsh Station Road is included - it's just not on this ADOT map. All non-ADOT managed segments were designated and all ADOT managed sections except those that overlap with I-10 and I-8."
I believe that also means the south frontage road from Theba to Gila Bend will be added too.
That's surprising to hear about I-8 frontage road considering the haggard shape it's in.
Very true, but maybe that will incentivise Maricopa County into repaving it?
VS988
Probably the cheapest and most efficient way to do it would be to throw a gravel surface down. That way a grader only needs to come around every so often to smooth out wash boarding. Certainly would give people a sense of what cross country travel on the US Routes used to be like.
Will signs for Historic US 89 between Flagstaff and Nogales be posted next? How important of a corridor was US 89's pre-1992 route south to the Mexican border?
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on September 24, 2018, 05:05:10 PM
Will signs for Historic US 89 between Flagstaff and Nogales be posted next? How important of a corridor was US 89's pre-1992 route south to the Mexican border?
Wouldn't surprise me if they did put those up one day considering US 89A is signed.
I would guess between Wickenburg and Tucson, historic signage would be less likely. I could definitely see SR 89 and possibly the old Nogales Highway getting signs though. But there's not a lot left of US 89 between Nogales and Green Valley. It's mostly been subsumed or torn up by I-19.
VS988
Found a page with lots of pictures of Historic US 80 in Arizona, including motels, aerials, road construction, and urban scenes:
https://tucson.com/news/retrotucson/photos-u-s-route-through-arizona-designated-a-historic-road/collection_4d5cd414-bdfc-11e8-8456-db84ca4e0581.html#14
Look for the picture that shows the Sage and Sand Motel. The road narrows at that point, and there is a huge rectangular sign that I presume is yellow-and-black basically shouting to motorists not to proceed through the sign and instead to merge left onto a bridge. Never quite seen anything like that previously!
Quote from: andy3175 on October 11, 2018, 12:40:19 AM
Found a page with lots of pictures of Historic US 80 in Arizona, including motels, aerials, road construction, and urban scenes:
https://tucson.com/news/retrotucson/photos-u-s-route-through-arizona-designated-a-historic-road/collection_4d5cd414-bdfc-11e8-8456-db84ca4e0581.html#14
Look for the picture that shows the Sage and Sand Motel. The road narrows at that point, and there is a huge rectangular sign that I presume is yellow-and-black basically shouting to motorists not to proceed through the sign and instead to merge left onto a bridge. Never quite seen anything like that previously!
Thanks for the page share! I love that article. The pictures are really good. I especially love the one where you can see US 80/US 89 through Tucson on the right and SR 84A (later I-10 under construction on the left).
In other big news, I attended the grand opening of the Ignite Sign Art Museum in Tucson this evening where I met the Arizona US 80 Preservation Effort leader, Demion Clinco. He's a really nice man and appreciated the assistance I've been giving to the cause, updating the Wikipedia articles, writing an opinion article he wants to help me submit to local newspapers and for helping to get US 80 more attention everywhere I can (including an hour lecture in a community college class on the importance of Historic US 80). I've stated before Demion is trying to form a statewide association for US 80 in Arizona and tonight, he said he wanted me to join it. I'm very honored and thankful he's given me this great opportunity. I've also made acquaintances with Jim Ross and Steven Varner. I hope that they can help provide useful advice on how we can make Historic US 80 a successful designation.
I'd also like to take the time to thank everyone on the forum for their support to our cause. I appreciate all the support and kind words on your behalf.
Speaking of Historic US 80 in Arizona I dug up my old photos of Gillespie Dam Bridge:
https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2018/10/bridge-monday-old-us-80-on-gillespie.html
Quote from: andy3175 on October 11, 2018, 12:40:19 AM
Found a page with lots of pictures of Historic US 80 in Arizona, including motels, aerials, road construction, and urban scenes:
https://tucson.com/news/retrotucson/photos-u-s-route-through-arizona-designated-a-historic-road/collection_4d5cd414-bdfc-11e8-8456-db84ca4e0581.html#14
Look for the picture that shows the Sage and Sand Motel. The road narrows at that point, and there is a huge rectangular sign that I presume is yellow-and-black basically shouting to motorists not to proceed through the sign and instead to merge left onto a bridge. Never quite seen anything like that previously!
That is a section that was replaced by a trench carrying present day I-10 under 6th and Park Ave. The Spanish trail motel is on the WB frontage, and is decaying and has been closed for years. The Tucson Inn, on Drachman closed a few years ago, stayed at the copper cactus next door recently. The TTT truckstop at Craycroft survives, but likely not much longer. It's style of sit down dining is no longer popular in today's age of the drive up window.
Quote from: DJStephens on October 24, 2018, 11:44:07 PM
Quote from: andy3175 on October 11, 2018, 12:40:19 AM
Found a page with lots of pictures of Historic US 80 in Arizona, including motels, aerials, road construction, and urban scenes:
https://tucson.com/news/retrotucson/photos-u-s-route-through-arizona-designated-a-historic-road/collection_4d5cd414-bdfc-11e8-8456-db84ca4e0581.html#14
Look for the picture that shows the Sage and Sand Motel. The road narrows at that point, and there is a huge rectangular sign that I presume is yellow-and-black basically shouting to motorists not to proceed through the sign and instead to merge left onto a bridge. Never quite seen anything like that previously!
That is a section that was replaced by a trench carrying present day I-10 under 6th and Park Ave. The Spanish trail motel is on the WB frontage, and is decaying and has been closed for years. The Tucson Inn, on Drachman closed a few years ago, stayed at the copper cactus next door recently. The TTT truckstop at Craycroft survives, but likely not much longer. It's style of sit down dining is no longer popular in today's age of the drive up window.
When the Historic US 80 Association begins operations, I'll bring TTT up at a meeting and try to make it a priority to promote. Hopefully that can help keep it from closing its doors. Might be wishful thinking but it's worth a shot.
VS988
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 22, 2018, 12:08:24 AM
Speaking of Historic US 80 in Arizona I dug up my old photos of Gillespie Dam Bridge:
https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2018/10/bridge-monday-old-us-80-on-gillespie.html
Sweet! I love that bridge. It would be my favorite on the route, but the Ocean To Ocean Bridge in Yuma takes my number one. AFAIK, its one or only two non-Interstate historic US Highway crossings of the Colorado River between California and Arizona still drivable. The US 60/US 70/US 95 crossings are all either removed or are now part of I-10. Almost the same with US 66 and I-40. The Old Trails Bridge still stands but it no longer carries an active roadway. Only the 1914 OTO Bridge and the 1956 US 80 bridge in Yuma are still intact and drivable on the Colorado between the two states.
Quote from: 707 on October 25, 2018, 12:10:03 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 22, 2018, 12:08:24 AM
Speaking of Historic US 80 in Arizona I dug up my old photos of Gillespie Dam Bridge:
https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2018/10/bridge-monday-old-us-80-on-gillespie.html
Sweet! I love that bridge. It would be my favorite on the route, but the Ocean To Ocean Bridge in Yuma takes my number one. AFAIK, its one or only two non-Interstate historic US Highway crossings of the Colorado River between California and Arizona still drivable. The US 60/US 70/US 95 crossings are all either removed or are now part of I-10. Almost the same with US 66 and I-40. The Old Trails Bridge still stands but it no longer carries an active roadway. Only the 1914 OTO Bridge and the 1956 US 80 bridge in Yuma are still intact and drivable on the Colorado between the two states.
I'd like another crack at the Dam structure since it was briefly part of US 80 before the Gillespie Dam Bridge was finished. The Antelope Hill Bridge is somewhat intriguing since I haven't pin pointed where it was located with 100% accuracy. Sure adds a lot of context to that old roadway north of the Gila River in Yuma County.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 25, 2018, 12:44:28 AM
Quote from: 707 on October 25, 2018, 12:10:03 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 22, 2018, 12:08:24 AM
Speaking of Historic US 80 in Arizona I dug up my old photos of Gillespie Dam Bridge:
https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2018/10/bridge-monday-old-us-80-on-gillespie.html
Sweet! I love that bridge. It would be my favorite on the route, but the Ocean To Ocean Bridge in Yuma takes my number one. AFAIK, its one or only two non-Interstate historic US Highway crossings of the Colorado River between California and Arizona still drivable. The US 60/US 70/US 95 crossings are all either removed or are now part of I-10. Almost the same with US 66 and I-40. The Old Trails Bridge still stands but it no longer carries an active roadway. Only the 1914 OTO Bridge and the 1956 US 80 bridge in Yuma are still intact and drivable on the Colorado between the two states.
I'd like another crack at the Dam structure since it was briefly part of US 80 before the Gillespie Dam Bridge was finished. The Antelope Hill Bridge is somewhat intriguing since I haven't pin pointed where it was located with 100% accuracy. Sure adds a lot of context to that old roadway north of the Gila River in Yuma County.
I know where the bridge is. ADOT and Fraser Design produced some amazing historic bridge inventory documents in 2004. Thanks to the Yuma County PDF, it took me all of 5 seconds to locate the Antelope Hill Bridge:
https://maps.google.com/?q=32.714407,-114.014041
Here's the PDFs in question:
http://www.azdot.gov/docs/default-source/planning/long_inventory_forms_yuma.pdf?sfvrsn=2
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/az/az0500/az0577/data/az0577data.pdf
It tells you everything you need to know and more! These were fantastic resources to use when I wrote the Wikipedia articles for the Gillespie Dam Bridge and US 80 in Arizona.
Quote from: 707 on October 25, 2018, 02:14:36 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 25, 2018, 12:44:28 AM
Quote from: 707 on October 25, 2018, 12:10:03 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 22, 2018, 12:08:24 AM
Speaking of Historic US 80 in Arizona I dug up my old photos of Gillespie Dam Bridge:
https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2018/10/bridge-monday-old-us-80-on-gillespie.html
Sweet! I love that bridge. It would be my favorite on the route, but the Ocean To Ocean Bridge in Yuma takes my number one. AFAIK, its one or only two non-Interstate historic US Highway crossings of the Colorado River between California and Arizona still drivable. The US 60/US 70/US 95 crossings are all either removed or are now part of I-10. Almost the same with US 66 and I-40. The Old Trails Bridge still stands but it no longer carries an active roadway. Only the 1914 OTO Bridge and the 1956 US 80 bridge in Yuma are still intact and drivable on the Colorado between the two states.
I'd like another crack at the Dam structure since it was briefly part of US 80 before the Gillespie Dam Bridge was finished. The Antelope Hill Bridge is somewhat intriguing since I haven't pin pointed where it was located with 100% accuracy. Sure adds a lot of context to that old roadway north of the Gila River in Yuma County.
I know where the bridge is. ADOT and Fraser Design produced some amazing historic bridge inventory documents in 2004. Thanks to the Yuma County PDF, it took me all of 5 seconds to locate the Antelope Hill Bridge:
https://maps.google.com/?q=32.714407,-114.014041
Here's the PDFs in question:
http://www.azdot.gov/docs/default-source/planning/long_inventory_forms_yuma.pdf?sfvrsn=2
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/az/az0500/az0577/data/az0577data.pdf
It tells you everything you need to know and more! These were fantastic resources to use when I wrote the Wikipedia articles for the Gillespie Dam Bridge and US 80 in Arizona.
I was wondering who did the updates to the Wikipedia article, I wish that I had access to resources like this back when I was in Arizona. I'll have to give both articles a look but that azdot.gov page looks intriguingly interesting regarding some historical information I might find useful. I'll be having a lot of Arizona stuff coming up that I want to do on my blog site.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 25, 2018, 12:57:50 PM
Quote from: 707 on October 25, 2018, 02:14:36 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 25, 2018, 12:44:28 AM
Quote from: 707 on October 25, 2018, 12:10:03 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 22, 2018, 12:08:24 AM
Speaking of Historic US 80 in Arizona I dug up my old photos of Gillespie Dam Bridge:
https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2018/10/bridge-monday-old-us-80-on-gillespie.html
Sweet! I love that bridge. It would be my favorite on the route, but the Ocean To Ocean Bridge in Yuma takes my number one. AFAIK, its one or only two non-Interstate historic US Highway crossings of the Colorado River between California and Arizona still drivable. The US 60/US 70/US 95 crossings are all either removed or are now part of I-10. Almost the same with US 66 and I-40. The Old Trails Bridge still stands but it no longer carries an active roadway. Only the 1914 OTO Bridge and the 1956 US 80 bridge in Yuma are still intact and drivable on the Colorado between the two states.
I'd like another crack at the Dam structure since it was briefly part of US 80 before the Gillespie Dam Bridge was finished. The Antelope Hill Bridge is somewhat intriguing since I haven't pin pointed where it was located with 100% accuracy. Sure adds a lot of context to that old roadway north of the Gila River in Yuma County.
I know where the bridge is. ADOT and Fraser Design produced some amazing historic bridge inventory documents in 2004. Thanks to the Yuma County PDF, it took me all of 5 seconds to locate the Antelope Hill Bridge:
https://maps.google.com/?q=32.714407,-114.014041
Here's the PDFs in question:
http://www.azdot.gov/docs/default-source/planning/long_inventory_forms_yuma.pdf?sfvrsn=2
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/az/az0500/az0577/data/az0577data.pdf
It tells you everything you need to know and more! These were fantastic resources to use when I wrote the Wikipedia articles for the Gillespie Dam Bridge and US 80 in Arizona.
I was wondering who did the updates to the Wikipedia article, I wish that I had access to resources like this back when I was in Arizona. I'll have to give both articles a look but that azdot.gov page looks intriguingly interesting regarding some historical information I might find useful. I'll be having a lot of Arizona stuff coming up that I want to do on my blog site.
That sounds awesome! Can't wait to see it!
VS988
Quote from: 707 on October 26, 2018, 11:58:19 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 25, 2018, 12:57:50 PM
Quote from: 707 on October 25, 2018, 02:14:36 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 25, 2018, 12:44:28 AM
Quote from: 707 on October 25, 2018, 12:10:03 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 22, 2018, 12:08:24 AM
Speaking of Historic US 80 in Arizona I dug up my old photos of Gillespie Dam Bridge:
https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2018/10/bridge-monday-old-us-80-on-gillespie.html
Sweet! I love that bridge. It would be my favorite on the route, but the Ocean To Ocean Bridge in Yuma takes my number one. AFAIK, its one or only two non-Interstate historic US Highway crossings of the Colorado River between California and Arizona still drivable. The US 60/US 70/US 95 crossings are all either removed or are now part of I-10. Almost the same with US 66 and I-40. The Old Trails Bridge still stands but it no longer carries an active roadway. Only the 1914 OTO Bridge and the 1956 US 80 bridge in Yuma are still intact and drivable on the Colorado between the two states.
I'd like another crack at the Dam structure since it was briefly part of US 80 before the Gillespie Dam Bridge was finished. The Antelope Hill Bridge is somewhat intriguing since I haven't pin pointed where it was located with 100% accuracy. Sure adds a lot of context to that old roadway north of the Gila River in Yuma County.
I know where the bridge is. ADOT and Fraser Design produced some amazing historic bridge inventory documents in 2004. Thanks to the Yuma County PDF, it took me all of 5 seconds to locate the Antelope Hill Bridge:
https://maps.google.com/?q=32.714407,-114.014041
Here's the PDFs in question:
http://www.azdot.gov/docs/default-source/planning/long_inventory_forms_yuma.pdf?sfvrsn=2
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/az/az0500/az0577/data/az0577data.pdf
It tells you everything you need to know and more! These were fantastic resources to use when I wrote the Wikipedia articles for the Gillespie Dam Bridge and US 80 in Arizona.
I was wondering who did the updates to the Wikipedia article, I wish that I had access to resources like this back when I was in Arizona. I'll have to give both articles a look but that azdot.gov page looks intriguingly interesting regarding some historical information I might find useful. I'll be having a lot of Arizona stuff coming up that I want to do on my blog site.
That sounds awesome! Can't wait to see it!
VS988
Won't be the same photo caliber as my recent stuff from California but I have a lot Old Shield photos that I can cobble together into something useful. I was really hoping to make it out there last year to re-clinch an assorted list of state highways and notable roads but plans fell through.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 26, 2018, 02:25:35 PM
Quote from: 707 on October 26, 2018, 11:58:19 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 25, 2018, 12:57:50 PM
Quote from: 707 on October 25, 2018, 02:14:36 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 25, 2018, 12:44:28 AM
Quote from: 707 on October 25, 2018, 12:10:03 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 22, 2018, 12:08:24 AM
Speaking of Historic US 80 in Arizona I dug up my old photos of Gillespie Dam Bridge:
https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2018/10/bridge-monday-old-us-80-on-gillespie.html
Sweet! I love that bridge. It would be my favorite on the route, but the Ocean To Ocean Bridge in Yuma takes my number one. AFAIK, its one or only two non-Interstate historic US Highway crossings of the Colorado River between California and Arizona still drivable. The US 60/US 70/US 95 crossings are all either removed or are now part of I-10. Almost the same with US 66 and I-40. The Old Trails Bridge still stands but it no longer carries an active roadway. Only the 1914 OTO Bridge and the 1956 US 80 bridge in Yuma are still intact and drivable on the Colorado between the two states.
I'd like another crack at the Dam structure since it was briefly part of US 80 before the Gillespie Dam Bridge was finished. The Antelope Hill Bridge is somewhat intriguing since I haven't pin pointed where it was located with 100% accuracy. Sure adds a lot of context to that old roadway north of the Gila River in Yuma County.
I know where the bridge is. ADOT and Fraser Design produced some amazing historic bridge inventory documents in 2004. Thanks to the Yuma County PDF, it took me all of 5 seconds to locate the Antelope Hill Bridge:
https://maps.google.com/?q=32.714407,-114.014041
Here's the PDFs in question:
http://www.azdot.gov/docs/default-source/planning/long_inventory_forms_yuma.pdf?sfvrsn=2
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/az/az0500/az0577/data/az0577data.pdf
It tells you everything you need to know and more! These were fantastic resources to use when I wrote the Wikipedia articles for the Gillespie Dam Bridge and US 80 in Arizona.
I was wondering who did the updates to the Wikipedia article, I wish that I had access to resources like this back when I was in Arizona. I'll have to give both articles a look but that azdot.gov page looks intriguingly interesting regarding some historical information I might find useful. I'll be having a lot of Arizona stuff coming up that I want to do on my blog site.
That sounds awesome! Can't wait to see it!
VS988
Won't be the same photo caliber as my recent stuff from California but I have a lot Old Shield photos that I can cobble together into something useful. I was really hoping to make it out there last year to re-clinch an assorted list of state highways and notable roads but plans fell through.
That's too bad! Better luck next time hopefully.
VS988
Currently doing some digging around on Newspapers.com to find information on US 80 in Arizona. Here's an interesting bit: A large group of US 66 supporters once went to the state capitol in Phoenix in 1932, complaining over US 80 getting more improvements through federal aid than their own highway.
Quote from: 707 on October 30, 2018, 05:26:35 PM
Currently doing some digging around on Newspapers.com to find information on US 80 in Arizona. Here's an interesting bit: A large group of US 66 supporters once went to the state capitol in Phoenix in 1932, complaining over US 80 getting more improvements through federal aid than their own highway.
US 80 definitely was way more important for in-State traffic that US 66 was given it touched almost all the big population centers at the time.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 30, 2018, 10:29:15 PM
Quote from: 707 on October 30, 2018, 05:26:35 PM
Currently doing some digging around on Newspapers.com to find information on US 80 in Arizona. Here's an interesting bit: A large group of US 66 supporters once went to the state capitol in Phoenix in 1932, complaining over US 80 getting more improvements through federal aid than their own highway.
US 80 definitely was way more important for in-State traffic that US 66 was given it touched almost all the big population centers at the time.
https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/collection/aho/id/740/rec/11
I came across a 1956 issue of the Arizona Highways magazine. It's partially dedicated to US 80 (or at least has quite a few articles and blurbs on it). Some interesting facts popped up you might be interested in, all of which back up what you're saying.
In 1956:
-On average 2,500 cars traveled US 80 every day
-The average amount of gas burned by those cars during one day on US 80 was about 300 Million Gallons, which was the amount of gas sold in Arizona during one year
-The five largest cities in Arizona were on the highway (four of which I'm guessing were Douglas, Tucson, Phoenix and Yuma)
-The state spent $11,600,000 rebuilding or repairing 177 miles of US 80 between 1946 and 1956
-The total distance US 80 traveled between San Diego and Tybee Island was 2,500 miles - The same distance between Paris, France and Cairo Egypt
The magazine has some excellent pictures and the article is well written (save for some racey language).
I like that US-80 is being designated as a historic route in Arizona. I remember US-80 being an active route when I was just a kid and my dad was stationed at MCAS Yuma back in the mid 1970's. On the other hand, I don't like the shape of the US Highway shield in this design (shown on page 1 and down below). It just doesn't look right. The shield is way too fat and clunky looking compared to older US Highway shields.
(https://scontent.fphx1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/43120736_10213603355024322_7643491290801242112_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&oh=bd9ae88b41caa88d0520bd4a46d59136&oe=5C15BD27)
Quote from: Bobby5280 on November 27, 2018, 12:49:42 AM
I like that US-80 is being designated as a historic route in Arizona. I remember US-80 being an active route when I was just a kid and my dad was stationed at MCAS Yuma back in the mid 1970's. On the other hand, I don't like the shape of the US Highway shield in this design (shown on page 1 and down below). It just doesn't look right. The shield is way too fat and clunky looking compared to older US Highway shields.
Not to blow CA's horn or anything, but utilizing original shield design -- with the "historic" notation
outside of the shield itself -- seems to be the better approach to this type of sign. Always nice to see details gotten right!
Quote from: sparker on November 27, 2018, 04:49:04 AM
Quote from: Bobby5280 on November 27, 2018, 12:49:42 AM
I like that US-80 is being designated as a historic route in Arizona. I remember US-80 being an active route when I was just a kid and my dad was stationed at MCAS Yuma back in the mid 1970's. On the other hand, I don't like the shape of the US Highway shield in this design (shown on page 1 and down below). It just doesn't look right. The shield is way too fat and clunky looking compared to older US Highway shields.
Not to blow CA's horn or anything, but utilizing original shield design -- with the "historic" notation outside of the shield itself -- seems to be the better approach to this type of sign. Always nice to see details gotten right!
True. Honestly, I'd redo the AZ historic shield with the 1961 shield shape if possible, because I like how the AZ signs blend in well with active highway signs.
VS988
Quote from: 707 on December 03, 2018, 01:28:03 PM
Quote from: sparker on November 27, 2018, 04:49:04 AM
Quote from: Bobby5280 on November 27, 2018, 12:49:42 AM
I like that US-80 is being designated as a historic route in Arizona. I remember US-80 being an active route when I was just a kid and my dad was stationed at MCAS Yuma back in the mid 1970's. On the other hand, I don't like the shape of the US Highway shield in this design (shown on page 1 and down below). It just doesn't look right. The shield is way too fat and clunky looking compared to older US Highway shields.
Not to blow CA's horn or anything, but utilizing original shield design -- with the "historic" notation outside of the shield itself -- seems to be the better approach to this type of sign. Always nice to see details gotten right!
True. Honestly, I'd redo the AZ historic shield with the 1961 shield shape if possible, because I like how the AZ signs blend in well with active highway signs.
VS988
It would be cool to have them in directional color again on the historic signage.
^^^^^^^^^
Saw my first colored AZ US highway sign while traveling through that state with my folks as a kid (ca. 1960); thought they were pretty neat at the time but only later grasped the directional significance. Most seemed to be gone by my next trip about four years later to visit relatives who had moved to Sun City, replaced by standard-issue black rectangles with printed shields (except for downtown Phoenix, where there were still some cutout shields remaining at the Grand Avenue/Van Buren intersection/junction).
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 04, 2018, 12:31:20 AM
Quote from: 707 on December 03, 2018, 01:28:03 PM
Quote from: sparker on November 27, 2018, 04:49:04 AM
Quote from: Bobby5280 on November 27, 2018, 12:49:42 AM
I like that US-80 is being designated as a historic route in Arizona. I remember US-80 being an active route when I was just a kid and my dad was stationed at MCAS Yuma back in the mid 1970's. On the other hand, I don't like the shape of the US Highway shield in this design (shown on page 1 and down below). It just doesn't look right. The shield is way too fat and clunky looking compared to older US Highway shields.
Not to blow CA's horn or anything, but utilizing original shield design -- with the "historic" notation outside of the shield itself -- seems to be the better approach to this type of sign. Always nice to see details gotten right!
True. Honestly, I'd redo the AZ historic shield with the 1961 shield shape if possible, because I like how the AZ signs blend in well with active highway signs.
VS988
It would be cool to have them in directional color again on the historic signage.
Absolutely. Especially considering most of the cutout color shields ADOT pressed out were scrapped in accordance with ADOT policy. I'm just as curious about the cutout stare higgway shields. Those were also second generation swastikas. So far, only a colorized photo of an SR 84 example exists online, which could have been erroneously colored.
VS988
Thank you for your efforts on this. Very interesting topic. Will try and get some pictures of old bypassed sections in and around Benson next time am traveling to either Tucson or Phoenix with the geotechnical firm. There are some sections of the former US 80 both east and west of Deming, NM. When decommissioned, the sterile designations of NM 418 (W of Deming) and 549 (E of Deming) were slapped on them.
Thanks! And yes. Interestingly though, the limited info I have on NM 418 and NM 549 suggests the old route through Cambray and all of NM 418 were county maintained routes between 1954 and 1988. During the 1988 Renumbering, NMDOT likely reinstated the old route that year west out of Deming as a State Highway, establishing it as NM 418. There are no references to NM 418 prior to at least 1988. I think it's possible that until the 1988 Renumbering, 549 was either signed a different NM number or was signed as US 70/US 80/US 180. Either way, the NM 549 designation was established in 1988. NM 549 was apparently expanded over the old Cambray route in the early 1990s with the state once again reclaiming a highway they abandoned to Luna County. I wish I had better sources. Either way, NMDOT doesn't seem to remember the dates of establishment for mamy of its routes or has the info buried deep in their archives where it hasn't been accessed yet. All documentation and sources they've made available online doesn't show a definitive date for tge establishment of most state roads. Though there's a goldmine of info regarding the territory/state highway system dates abd designations from 1909 to the 1927 Renumbering.
VS988
1965 topo with NM 418: https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/ht-bin/tv_download.pl?id=5378468&tif=true
1972 topo with NM 549: https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/ht-bin/tv_download.pl?id=5378656&tif=true
Browser: http://historicalmaps.arcgis.com/usgs/
Quote from: NE2 on December 10, 2018, 07:15:48 AM
1965 topo with NM 418: https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/ht-bin/tv_download.pl?id=5378468&tif=true
1972 topo with NM 549: https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/ht-bin/tv_download.pl?id=5378656&tif=true
Browser: http://historicalmaps.arcgis.com/usgs/
Thanks for the correction. No other maps I've seen have ever shown them existing prior to 1988.
VS988
Historic US 80 signs are up on AZ 80 in Cochise County.
Quote from: Konza on May 28, 2019, 11:08:18 PM
Historic US 80 signs are up on AZ 80 in Cochise County.
I've seen Facebook posts with them co-signed on AZ 77 near Tucson.
Viewed a historic 80 marker in Florence Junction (US 60, exit 212) last week.
Quote from: DJStephens on June 04, 2019, 09:25:24 PM
Viewed a historic 80 marker in Florence Junction (US 60, exit 212) last week.
I take it you mean at or near the US 60/AZ 79 interchange. "Florence Junction" hasn't existed for many years. The store/gas station/souvenir shop that was at the old US 60/70 and US 80/89 (now AZ 79) split is long gone, and the area is now known by the Census Bureau as Queen Valley.
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on June 05, 2019, 01:47:18 AM
Quote from: DJStephens on June 04, 2019, 09:25:24 PM
Viewed a historic 80 marker in Florence Junction (US 60, exit 212) last week.
I take it you mean at or near the US 60/AZ 79 interchange. "Florence Junction" hasn't existed for many years. The store/gas station/souvenir shop that was at the old US 60/70 and US 80/89 (now AZ 79) split is long gone, and the area is now known by the Census Bureau as Queen Valley.
When did that change? I've always known the area as Florence Junction and Silver King to the north. There was actual a mine and community called Silver King that was pretty notable until someone burned the ruins of the buildings down.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on June 05, 2019, 07:48:20 AM
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on June 05, 2019, 01:47:18 AM
Quote from: DJStephens on June 04, 2019, 09:25:24 PM
Viewed a historic 80 marker in Florence Junction (US 60, exit 212) last week.
I take it you mean at or near the US 60/AZ 79 interchange. "Florence Junction" hasn't existed for many years. The store/gas station/souvenir shop that was at the old US 60/70 and US 80/89 (now AZ 79) split is long gone, and the area is now known by the Census Bureau as Queen Valley.
When did that change? I've always known the area as Florence Junction and Silver King to the north. There was actual a mine and community called Silver King that was pretty notable until someone burned the ruins of the buildings down.
Florence Junction is still used to describe the US 60/AZ 79 interchange, but the area has been vacant since the interchange opened -- at least 20 years.
The area where the store sat, at the intersection of the old roads, is now just a vacant lot with a couple of garbage cans -- a smoke break before continuing on to Florence/Tucson or Globe. You can still drive to the lot by turning left at 79, but nothing of substance is there.
The question would be exactly how "historic" Historic US 80 wants to be.
Around Bisbee, the Historic US 80 Route signs follow AZ 80, which is to say around Old Bisbee and through the Mule Pass Tunnel. The tunnel only dates back to the fifties, before that the route would have had to have followed Main Street, Tombstone Canyon Road, and Old Divide Road, the last of which can be treacherous to say the least.
I can see why Bisbee would not want any more traffic on its historic Main Street, and I don't think it would be a good idea to route tourists over Old Divide Road but I wonder what process was used to actually determine which route was going to be signed. One of the reasons for designating historic routes is to peek back at yesteryear, and there would be few better ways to do that than routing traffic through the heart of Old Bisbee.
Quote from: Konza on June 07, 2019, 06:34:14 PM
The question would be exactly how "historic" Historic US 80 wants to be.
Around Bisbee, the Historic US 80 Route signs follow AZ 80, which is to say around Old Bisbee and through the Mule Pass Tunnel. The tunnel only dates back to the fifties, before that the route would have had to have followed Main Street, Tombstone Canyon Road, and Old Divide Road, the last of which can be treacherous to say the least.
I can see why Bisbee would not want any more traffic on its historic Main Street, and I don't think it would be a good idea to route tourists over Old Divide Road but I wonder what process was used to actually determine which route was going to be signed. One of the reasons for designating historic routes is to peek back at yesteryear, and there would be few better ways to do that than routing traffic through the heart of Old Bisbee.
Having historic US 89A never seemed to affect Clarkdale all that much. I'd say route Historic US 80 over the pass and Main Street. At minimum either way has you on a section of what was US 80.
Great to hear the signs are being thrown up! Does anyone have a photograph? I'm unable to take a look myself. As I'm typing though, I'm on Historic US 80 in Tucson. The old route through the city still doesn't have signs yet. I can vouch for that taking the bus up Stone, Drachman and Oracle every Sunday to get to work. I remember Demion Clinco saying ADOT was still working out an IGA (Inter-Governmental Agreement) for non-state sections, so I'm guessing Pima County and the state are still in the process of working out an agreement. Demion did say the way things were working out, the ADOT maintained routes would get the first signs, then the county and city routes across the state after the bureaucratic wheels finish their painfully slow revolutions and paperwork plus IGAs are put into effect. He assured me Marsh Station Road, Old Divide and Main Street would get the signs eventually. Apparently ADOT added those to the proposed Historic Route.
From what I've gathered and have been told, the THPF and ADOT have two alignments that will all eventually be signed in some form or another:
Primary Route - US 80 as it was in 1950 (This route for the most part is accurate, though they forgot to add Old Divide and Main Street in Bisbee.)
Secondary Route - US 80 as it was in 1926 (but erroneously referred to as US 80 in 1925 by both ADOT and the THPF)/"US 80" as it was in 1917 (Basically the Dixie Overland Highway and Bankhead Highway auto trails)
The THPF goofed up with their dates badly. US 80 didn't exist between 1917 and 1925 (unless you count the early planning by AASHO in '25). They also put down the end of US 80 in Arizona period as being in 1977, despite the fact it existed in Cochise County until 1989. My guess is they did this because they wanted incarnations of the entire route across the state rather than just a segment. ADOT pretty much took everything the THPF said as gospel for where and what Historic US 80 is, so because of the errors, ADOT may erroneously recognize US 80 having existed between 1917 and 1977. All the routes they made are based off my friend Jeff Jensen's work from his book Drive the Broadway of America!: US 80 Across the Southwest and included the Bankhead and Dixie Overland Highway routes he placed in them, probably thinking that those were always US 80.
Marsh Station Road, Old Divide Road, Tombstone Canyon Road and Main Street are all listed in the document under the Secondary (1925) Route. And get this; the old mostly unknown early routing of US 80 through Dome is part of the Secondary Route As Well. If you'd all like, I can try and put together a list of the road segments of interest that make up Routes 1 and 2.
As for the bypass route and Mule Pass Tunnel, I can vouch that at least one of those pieces is very historic. The tunnel, completed in 1958, is the longest in the state of Arizona and the only tunnel ever used by US 80 (since the San Diego Tunnel was cancelled in California). During construction of the tunnel, the contracted crew broke the world record for most earthen material excavated by a drilling machine in one day. But they didn't just break the record once, they broke it three times in a row. Construction of the tunnel also broke records at the time for being the largest construction project on a highway in Arizona and being the most expensive single highway improvement project in Arizona. Not sure how many records besides the length one are still valid though, considering these are facts and figures from 1958 to 1960. Construction of the tunnel cost a total of $2,000,000 in 1958 figures. So expensive it surpassed the original allocated budget by over $600,000. That lead to the state auditor Mrs. Jewel Jordan, refusing initial payments to the contractor creating a huge problem. Work stopped on the tunnel for months while the attorney general of the state and the state auditor argued back and forth over the legality of the contract in a civil lawsuit. Obviously Jordan lost the argument as the Arizona Supreme Court ruled the contract was legal despite being over budget. Jordan was forced to give the contractor their due payment and work resumed on the tunnel in March 1957.
Lastly, in the news, the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation just won an award for their preservation efforts with US 80.
This is the document both ADOT and the THPF are using to designate Historic US 80:
https://preservetucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Arizona-Historic-US-Route-80-Applicaiton-Submitted-to-ADOT-July-2016-small-file-for-web2.pdf
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on June 07, 2019, 06:55:26 PM
Quote from: Konza on June 07, 2019, 06:34:14 PM
The question would be exactly how "historic" Historic US 80 wants to be.
Around Bisbee, the Historic US 80 Route signs follow AZ 80, which is to say around Old Bisbee and through the Mule Pass Tunnel. The tunnel only dates back to the fifties, before that the route would have had to have followed Main Street, Tombstone Canyon Road, and Old Divide Road, the last of which can be treacherous to say the least.
I can see why Bisbee would not want any more traffic on its historic Main Street, and I don't think it would be a good idea to route tourists over Old Divide Road but I wonder what process was used to actually determine which route was going to be signed. One of the reasons for designating historic routes is to peek back at yesteryear, and there would be few better ways to do that than routing traffic through the heart of Old Bisbee.
Having historic US 89A never seemed to affect Clarkdale all that much. I'd say route Historic US 80 over the pass and Main Street. At minimum either way has you on a section of what was US 80.
Page 7 of the ADOT signing plan (http://aztransportationboard.gov/downloads/Presentations/2018-092118-US80-Recommendations.pdf) suggests through Old Bisbee and over the pass is the aim, but as it isn't a state route, signage would come later. Odd that they would change that and sign AZ80 when they didn't plan to.
TBH, I think that US66-style date banners (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@39.0919165,-89.7089405,3a,15y,253.86h,82.64t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sfnU81guE9-oaA40E5z0QOw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DfnU81guE9-oaA40E5z0QOw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D200%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656) with two different alignments might work for Bisbee - there's an historic tunnel and an historic town (though you can actually do both - the tunnel is opposed to the pass rather than the town).
Quote from: english si on September 06, 2019, 05:05:50 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on June 07, 2019, 06:55:26 PM
Quote from: Konza on June 07, 2019, 06:34:14 PM
The question would be exactly how "historic" Historic US 80 wants to be.
Around Bisbee, the Historic US 80 Route signs follow AZ 80, which is to say around Old Bisbee and through the Mule Pass Tunnel. The tunnel only dates back to the fifties, before that the route would have had to have followed Main Street, Tombstone Canyon Road, and Old Divide Road, the last of which can be treacherous to say the least.
I can see why Bisbee would not want any more traffic on its historic Main Street, and I don't think it would be a good idea to route tourists over Old Divide Road but I wonder what process was used to actually determine which route was going to be signed. One of the reasons for designating historic routes is to peek back at yesteryear, and there would be few better ways to do that than routing traffic through the heart of Old Bisbee.
Having historic US 89A never seemed to affect Clarkdale all that much. I'd say route Historic US 80 over the pass and Main Street. At minimum either way has you on a section of what was US 80.
Page 7 of the ADOT signing plan (http://aztransportationboard.gov/downloads/Presentations/2018-092118-US80-Recommendations.pdf) suggests through Old Bisbee and over the pass is the aim, but as it isn't a state route, signage would come later. Odd that they would change that and sign AZ80 when they didn't plan to.
TBH, I think that US66-style date banners (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@39.0919165,-89.7089405,3a,15y,253.86h,82.64t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sfnU81guE9-oaA40E5z0QOw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DfnU81guE9-oaA40E5z0QOw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D200%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656) with two different alignments might work for Bisbee - there's an historic tunnel and an historic town (though you can actually do both - the tunnel is opposed to the pass rather than the town).
That is very odd indeed. I imagine ADOT crews and personnel must have screwed up. I also got reports Historic US 80 was signed along SR 85 from Buckeye to Gila Bend, instead of Old US 80/Cotton Center Road as the ASTB Meeting Agenda and Documents specifically asked it to be.
The problem is, the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation seems to have lost interest and no longer actively endorses the road they fought so hard to get designated. They celebrated its inception, took their award, then left. I've tried several times to get updates from Demion Clinco, their leader, but he just reads my messages and ignores them these days.
Besides that, there's no Historic Route 80 Association in Arizona, period. There hasn't been a US 80 Association since the old Tucson based organization disbanded in 1965 or so. So basically, no one is raising concern over this. I wish I knew how to appeal to Business Owners and Municipal Politicians like Angel Delgadillo did with Route 66, because I would gladly create the organization myself. I'm trying to raise interest on the main US 80 history buff page on Facebook to get something started, but so far, there's very little interest. Meanwhile, all the businesses are shutting down on the Drachman Street section like no tomorrow and no one in town seems to care... I ate at a historic restaurant tonight on the Stone Avenue section that's started closing most of their building after 11 AM because of the lack of people doing business...
VS988