Historic US 80 in Arizona

[Max Rockatansky]

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. 

[The Ghostbuster]

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?

[Max Rockatansky]

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. 

[707]

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

[andy3175]

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!

[707]

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.

[Max Rockatansky]

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

[DJStephens]

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.

[707]

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

[707]

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.

[Max Rockatansky]

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.

[707]

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.

[Max Rockatansky]

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.

[707]

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

[Max Rockatansky]

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. 

[707]

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

[707]

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.

[Max Rockatansky]

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. 

[707]

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).

[Bobby5280]

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.

[sparker]

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!

[707]

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

[Max Rockatansky]

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.

[sparker]

^^^^^^^^^
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). 

[707]

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