AZ 95 in Needles, CA

[Max Rockatansky]

For some reason Needles has AZ 95 signed along Needles Highway approaching Broadway Street:

95AZb by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[ClassicHasClass]

Isn't that, more or less, the routing (as AZDOT sees it)? AZ 95 follows BR 40 back to mainline Interstate 40 and continues with it over the state line to the continuation. There's AZ 95 continuation signage all over Needles.

[Max Rockatansky]

More or less, thing is that Needles posted a US Route 95 shield at the intersection of K Street and Needles Highway:

IMG_4195 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

To that end, it would be logical to post "TO AZ 95" shields along Broadway Street and I-40.  That said, I've never seen any evidence that Caltrans was interested in doing something like that.  Given there is a US 95 and AZ 95 in Needles I tend to believe that the latter is simply a mistake.

[kendancy66]

I believe you can get the information you want here (Cameron Kaiser Floodgap roadgap website http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/95/u5/) look for paragraph Detour AZ 95. This explains why AZ-95 is signed in CA  It is interesting that your photo of the the US-95 shield in Needles (if that is the location?) is not the usual cutout that CA normally uses.  That gives me the impression that the shield was supplied by AZDOT instead

[Max Rockatansky]

Interesting, I completely forgot that sign was even there at K and Needles Highway.  Doesn't help they I hadn't been on northern AZ 95 since 2012.  There is more AZ 95 Detour signs on westbound Broadway Street approaching Needles Highway, the I-40 exit to J Street and at J Street/Broadway. 

(Mods, would it be possible to split these posts into an AZ 95 Detour thread?)
Done. –Roadfro

[pderocco]

I wonder about Kaiser's comment about abutters demanding "beaucoup bucks" for the ROW along the old AZ-95. Was the state proposing to widen it? What "clear title" was missing, which scared the state away, but which didn't seem to bother Mohave County? I'm presuming that the old road included parts of CR-227, CR-1, and CR-10 down to US-66.

[Max Rockatansky]

I wonder about Kaiser's comment about abutters demanding "beaucoup bucks" for the ROW along the old AZ-95. Was the state proposing to widen it? What "clear title" was missing, which scared the state away, but which didn't seem to bother Mohave County? I'm presuming that the old road included parts of CR-227, CR-1, and CR-10 down to US-66.

That's the alignment that shows up on the 1973 USGS Map of the area and 1971 Arizona Highway Department Map:

https://www.arizonaroads.com/maps/1971-3.jpg

[ClassicHasClass]

(just in case it's not clear, the Floodgap Roadgap site is my site)

I need to do some updates, but to answer pderocco's question, I believe that came out of a newspaper article I'm trying to find again. I don't know exactly what ADOT's plans were at the time but it sounds like the highway was intended for expansion at some point and they couldn't. Certainly AZ 95 is still pretty heavily trafficked up to Bullhead City and Laughlin.

[Max Rockatansky]

Found the abandonment resolution for AZ 95 north of I-40 from 1992:

http://azhighwaydata.com/resolutions/?resnum=1992-06-A-045

And the adoption of Harbor Avenue to Needles as the new AZ 95:

http://azhighwaydata.com/resolutions/?resnum=1992-06-A-044

Here is the adoption of AZ 95 from I-40 north to AZ 68 during 1970:

http://azhighwaydata.com/resolutions/?resnum=1970-%20-078


Per ADOT the Harbor Avenue Bridge to Needles was constructed initially during 1978:

https://azdot.gov/projects/northwest-district-projects/sr-95-needles-bridge-rehabilitation-project



The mileage gap for AZ 95 north of I-40 still appears in state mileage logs:

https://azdot.gov/sites/default/files/2019/05/2013shslog.pdf


A sketch of how AZ 95 Detour is signed in Needles:

AZ 95D by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[brad2971]

Found the abandonment resolution for AZ 95 north of I-40 from 1992:

http://azhighwaydata.com/resolutions/?resnum=1992-06-A-045

And the adoption of Harbor Avenue to Needles as the new AZ 95:

http://azhighwaydata.com/resolutions/?resnum=1992-06-A-044

Here is the adoption of AZ 95 from I-40 north to AZ 68 during 1970:

http://azhighwaydata.com/resolutions/?resnum=1970-%20-078


Per ADOT the Harbor Avenue Bridge to Needles was constructed initially during 1978:

https://azdot.gov/projects/northwest-district-projects/sr-95-needles-bridge-rehabilitation-project



The mileage gap for AZ 95 north of I-40 still appears in state mileage logs:

https://azdot.gov/sites/default/files/2019/05/2013shslog.pdf


A sketch of how AZ 95 Detour is signed in Needles:

AZ 95D by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Since ADOT knew that the end of AZ 95 was going to be at the bridge with no state owned (in this case, Caltrans) connection to I-40, why on earth did ADOT not take the opportunity to renumber that stretch from the bridge to AZ 68/NV 163 to, say, AZ 295?! Especially since, at the same time, ADOT renumbered US 89 between US 60 and AZ 77 to AZ 79?

[pderocco]

Since ADOT knew that the end of AZ 95 was going to be at the bridge with no state owned (in this case, Caltrans) connection to I-40, why on earth did ADOT not take the opportunity to renumber that stretch from the bridge to AZ 68/NV 163 to, say, AZ 295?! Especially since, at the same time, ADOT renumbered US 89 between US 60 and AZ 77 to AZ 79?

What about renumbering it as AZ-68?

Of course, this is water long since under the bridge.

[brad2971]

Since ADOT knew that the end of AZ 95 was going to be at the bridge with no state owned (in this case, Caltrans) connection to I-40, why on earth did ADOT not take the opportunity to renumber that stretch from the bridge to AZ 68/NV 163 to, say, AZ 295?! Especially since, at the same time, ADOT renumbered US 89 between US 60 and AZ 77 to AZ 79?

What about renumbering it as AZ-68?

Of course, this is water long since under the bridge.

Depends. If the use of GPS in this country freezes route numbering in amber, then you'd be right. At the same time, since 1992, Laughlin and Bullhead City have lost something along the lines of 2/3 of its visitors per year (from 5 million/year in the early 1990s to about 1.75 million/year in the 2020s). They're likely desperate  to get a new generation of RV and casino tourists there, and route re-numbering along with proper signage along I-40 and Needles city streets may help.