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US 60 Globe - Superior AZ

Started by DJStephens, March 15, 2017, 11:41:08 PM

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DJStephens

Was on US 60 east of Phoenix Metro today.  The last section of US 60 twinning just west of Superior is almost done.   The route through town is being rebuilt, as well, as a four lane boulevard with curbing, sidewalks, and a median divider.   After one climbs the steep two lane east of Superior, the route passes through a hamlet with some protest signs. Did not believe any work was planned east of Superior, to the copper towns of Globe/Miami, AZ.  Anyone know anything about that?  A lot of property in that hamlet was for sale, btw.   


Max Rockatansky

That would be Top-of-the-World, the little tiny hamlet you are referring to.  Basically it is just full of people opposed to any improvements to US 60 whatsoever.  Granted back when I lived in Arizona the plans being discussed largely razed Top-of-the-World....so the NIMBY mentality is strong in that community.  Really US 60 through Queen Creek Canyon was one of my favorite highways in the state on a good day with no traffic.  I got so good at the two-lane configuration that I could hold 55 MPH the entire way...unless a trucker was on the road.  Really that section of US 60 was a nightmare for daily commuters, it was way overdue for improvements.

DJStephens

Maybe? they have decided to raze it, might? explain the for sale signs there.   

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: DJStephens on March 16, 2017, 12:06:27 AM
Maybe? they have decided to raze it, might? explain the for sale signs there.

Probably, really the place didn't stand much chance not being incorporated.  Really I haven't kept up on the project as much as I would have liked over the years.  So long as the Old Queen Creek Tunnel doesn't get ruined in the process it still should be a pretty good place to go for old road alignment hiking.  That whole section between Superior and Miami has so many old alignments of US 180 (I) and US 60/70 that are worth checking out.

Sonic99

The protests could also be about the mining project in that area that is going to basically destroy Oak Flats. I know that's been a point of a LOT of contention for years in that area. Superior could really use the job boost, but the environmental people are very upset about what it's going to destroy in the process.
If you used to draw freeways on your homework and got reprimanded by your Senior English teacher for doing so, you might be a road geek!

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Sonic99 on March 17, 2017, 12:51:11 AM
The protests could also be about the mining project in that area that is going to basically destroy Oak Flats. I know that's been a point of a LOT of contention for years in that area. Superior could really use the job boost, but the environmental people are very upset about what it's going to destroy in the process.

Such is the nature of mining towns, really what else are they going to do?  Superior has been dying a slow death for a long time and could use a new claim opening up.  It's a fascinating read to see what the median income is over in Globe off to the east.  The mine workers usually make some decent pay. 

DJStephens

Mining jobs pay close to double what one makes busting their rear end in a big box.   

kdk

I was just out here myself last week.  Looks like most of the planned improvements between Superior and Globe are done, they added a climbing lane on WB 60 and a lot of the road was recently paved.  The tunnel lighting project was done too.  Not sure if anything else is planned. 
Would like to see this route widened all the way, it can still be a bit scary at night with trucks on some of the curves.  But it would be a tough project with some of the terrain, so don't see it happening soon.  The route is scenic during the day though.

I also had heard the income is pretty good in Globe when the mines are active, to the point that a few years ago housing got expensive and in short supply.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: kdk on March 28, 2017, 02:40:07 AM
I was just out here myself last week.  Looks like most of the planned improvements between Superior and Globe are done, they added a climbing lane on WB 60 and a lot of the road was recently paved.  The tunnel lighting project was done too.  Not sure if anything else is planned. 
Would like to see this route widened all the way, it can still be a bit scary at night with trucks on some of the curves.  But it would be a tough project with some of the terrain, so don't see it happening soon.  The route is scenic during the day though.

I also had heard the income is pretty good in Globe when the mines are active, to the point that a few years ago housing got expensive and in short supply.

If I remember correctly some of the original draft ideas had two full westbound lanes running from the Queen Creek Tunnel north of Top-of-the-World all the way to Pinto Creek.  Supposedly that's why the locals were freaked out because ADOT wanted to declare eminent domain...at least that's how I vaguely remember it. 

Funny, Globe's population has remained relatively flat between 1910 and now at about 6,000-8,000.  Miami on the other had has dropped from almost a peak of 8,000 down to about 2,000.  There are plenty of abandoned properties in Miami that could have been demolished or rehabbed for housing.  The best place to eat in the Globe area would definitely be in Miami though, Burger House was always the place to stop IMO.

JKRhodes

Top Of The World's protest signs have had a website listed on them, which last I checked about four years ago, was dead... so the fight may long be over, I know those signs have been up since at least 2011.

An alternative plan for US 60 from Superior to Globe involved a completely new alignment to the south, bypassing Top of the World and Globe, going to the intersection of US 70 and 77, then heading north to the current alignment of US 60/AZ 77 to tie in somewhere on the way to Salt River Canyon... This would devastate the fast food restaurants in Globe, and the city fought that one pretty hard. I know when the mines shut down every so often, the city relies on that stuff for tax dollars.

Makes me excited to see what will happen if they do go forward with twinning the road along its current alignment between Superior and Globe. They'd have to move a LOT of dirt. I've driven it so many times in a car that it's second nature now, but had the opportunity to give it a go at night in a Uhaul a month ago, and I will say that was a particularly harrowing experience.

JKRhodes

Quote
The best place to eat in the Globe area would definitely be in Miami though, Burger House was always the place to stop IMO.
Agreed.

You know you're in Southern Gila County when the best Mexican Food is sold at a Burger place.  :sombrero: :sombrero: :sombrero: :sombrero: :sombrero: :bigass: :bigass: :-D :-D :-D

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: roadiejay on April 03, 2017, 10:42:54 AM
Quote
The best place to eat in the Globe area would definitely be in Miami though, Burger House was always the place to stop IMO.
Agreed.

You know you're in Southern Gila County when the best Mexican Food is sold at a Burger place.  :sombrero: :sombrero: :sombrero: :sombrero: :sombrero: :bigass: :bigass: :-D :-D :-D

Yeah that whole little Globe-Miami area has a ton of great hole-in-the-wall places to eat.  I'm not sure what was going on when I was frequenting the place but they had some absolutely stunning girls working there.  You definitely didn't expect that...or that level of food sitting on the side of US 60 below an open pit mine.

Avalanchez71

Wow what a bummer that the 4 laned that highway.  It ruins the rural character of the area.

sparker

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on April 03, 2017, 12:35:17 PM
Quote from: roadiejay on April 03, 2017, 10:42:54 AM
Quote
The best place to eat in the Globe area would definitely be in Miami though, Burger House was always the place to stop IMO.
Agreed.

You know you're in Southern Gila County when the best Mexican Food is sold at a Burger place.  :sombrero: :sombrero: :sombrero: :sombrero: :sombrero: :bigass: :bigass: :-D :-D :-D

Yeah that whole little Globe-Miami area has a ton of great hole-in-the-wall places to eat.  I'm not sure what was going on when I was frequenting the place but they had some absolutely stunning girls working there.  You definitely didn't expect that...or that level of food sitting on the side of US 60 below an open pit mine.

Sometimes during my travels I've been pleasantly surprised by what I find in the most mundane or banal places.  For instance, some of the best "fast" Mexican food I've had was from an A&W Root Beer place in Colusa, CA -- on CA 45 heading out of town to the north; this was the early/mid 80's.  Fantastic hardshell tacos w/freshly fried tortilla shells; coarsely ground beef mixed with onions and Serrano peppers -- the whole works, topped with an incredibly tasty (and hot!) green salsa.  Made an attempt to stop there whenever I was heading up to NE CA from San Jose -- but they changed hands in the late '90's, and "gringos" ran it for a while with a stock A&W menu.  As of a trip through there in early 2015 it's boarded up.  Also: good Thai food in Amarillo, TX, across from the La Quinta on west Loop 335 north of I-40, and some of the best Hunan-style Chinese cooking I've had outside S.F. on US 1/Boston Post Road in Milford, CT.  Be nice if all those places remained in business today!

Sonic99

Saw a comment about Mexican food in the Globe area. If you haven't gone to Guayo's El Rey in Miami, you are missing out. Just phenomenal food.
If you used to draw freeways on your homework and got reprimanded by your Senior English teacher for doing so, you might be a road geek!

JKRhodes

4-laning is complete all the way to the SR 177 turnoff now.



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