U.S. Route 60 (Arizona)

U.S. Route 60 (Arizona) is a major east–west United States Numbered Highway traversing central and eastern Arizona from Phoenix toward the New Mexico state line near Springerville and Eagar. The route connects metropolitan centers such as Glendale, Mesa, and Tempe with rural communities including Wickenburg, Florence, Globe, Show Low, and Winslow. U.S. Route 60 serves as a regional arterial linking interstates such as Interstate 10, Interstate 17, and Interstate 40, and it parallels historic corridors like U.S. Route 66 and segments of the National Highway System.

Route description

U.S. Route 60 begins in the Phoenix metropolitan area near Grand Avenue and proceeds northeast through Glendale, traversing urban districts near Chase Field, Arizona State University, Tempe Town Lake, Sky Harbor International Airport, and the Salt River Project canal network. East of Mesa the highway intersects routes to Scottsdale, Gilbert, Chandler, and connects to Arizona State Route 87 toward Payson and Heber-Overgaard via mountain passes near the Mogollon Rim. Continuing through Superior and Miami, U.S. Route 60 negotiates canyons adjacent to the Tonto National Forest, Salt River, Gila River, and access points to Apache Junction and Goldfield Ghost Town. Further east the highway ascends the Pinal and Gila highlands, serving Globe and providing connections to San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation communities and San Carlos Lake. Approaching Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside, the route crosses the White Mountains, linking to Hopi Reservation access roads and freight corridors toward Springerville and Eagar where it meets the New Mexico State Road system at the state line near Zuni Mountains and historic trails used by Spanish Empire explorers.

History

The corridor that became U.S. Route 60 follows wagon roads and territorial roads used in the 19th century by Arizona Territory settlers, Santa Fe Trail offshoots, and Railroad alignments tied to Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway expansion. Designated in the original 1926 U.S. Highway system, the route was influenced by advocacy from Arizona politicians and boosters including figures associated with Gila River Indian Community negotiations and statewide infrastructure planning endorsed by administrations contemporaneous with governors such as George W. P. Hunt and later John C. Phillips. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s U.S. Route 60 was improved with New Deal–era labor from programs linked to initiatives of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and construction projects coordinated with agencies like the Bureau of Public Roads and the Civilian Conservation Corps. Postwar growth around Phoenix, including suburban development linked to aerospace firms and manufacturing plants tied to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base supply chains, prompted realignments and upgrades in the 1950s and 1960s to freeway standards near Tempe and Mesa, intersecting with interstate projects associated with Dwight D. Eisenhower's Interstate Highway System. In later decades, environmental reviews involving U.S. Forest Service lands, tribal consultations with the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the Hopi Tribe, and transportation funding measures approved by the Arizona State Legislature shaped bypasses, safety enhancements, and bridge replacements, some financed through ballot measures like statewide transportation propositions championed by governors such as Jan Brewer and Doug Ducey.

Major intersections

The highway intersects several primary routes and facilities that form key multimodal nodes: junctions with Interstate 10 and U.S. Route 89 near Phoenix; grade-separated interchanges with Arizona State Route 51 and Loop 202 serving Tempe and Chandler; connections to Arizona State Route 87 toward Payson; crossings with U.S. Route 191 and U.S. Route 70-linked corridors near Globe; linkages to U.S. Route 180 and Arizona State Route 260 around the White Mountains near Show Low and Snowflake; and an eastern terminus linkage to the New Mexico Department of Transportation network near Springerville and Eagar. The route also provides access to county roads leading to Coconino County, Navajo County, Apache County communities, state parks such as Tonto National Monument, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, and transit hubs including Greyhound Lines stations in regional centers.

Future and improvements

Planned projects include capacity expansions and safety improvements coordinated by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and regional planning agencies like the Maricopa Association of Governments and the Pinal County Board of Supervisors. Proposals involve interchange reconstructions near Loop 101 and modernization of bridgework overseen with federal funding from programs administered by the Federal Highway Administration and in partnership with the Federal Transit Administration for multimodal integration. Environmental assessments reference lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and forestry stewardship with the U.S. Forest Service, while consultations continue with tribal authorities including the San Carlos Apache Tribe and Navajo Nation representatives for alignments near reservation boundaries. Freight movement initiatives tie to the Arizona Freight Advisory Committee and corridor designation efforts related to the National Highway Freight Network, with advocacy from chambers such as the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and infrastructure financiers including the Arizona Commerce Authority.

Auxiliary routes and designations

Several related designations and business routes link to the main corridor: business loops through Globe, Show Low, and Miami formerly marked as U.S. Highway business routes and managed by municipal public works departments; state-maintained spur routes like Arizona State Route 179 and feeder state highways connecting to tourist corridors serving Sedona, Montezuma Castle National Monument, and Tonto National Forest recreation areas; historical alignments once codified by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials are preserved in local registries and historic highway programs sponsored by Arizona State Parks and heritage groups such as the Arizona Historical Society.

Category:U.S. Highways in Arizona