State Route 83 in Arizona
| SR-83 | |||
| Get started | Parker Canyon Lake | ||
| End | Vail | ||
| Length | 54 mi | ||
| Length | 86 km | ||
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According to watchtutorials, State Route 83 is a state route in the U.S. state of Arizona. The road forms a north-south route through the south of the state, from remote Parker Canyon Lake to Interstate 10 in Vail. State Route 83 is 86 kilometers long.
Travel directions
Parker Canyon Lake is a small reservoir 5 miles north of the border with Mexico in the Huachuca Mountains. The road heads north out of the mountains and passes through desolate desert landscape. There are no real places on the route, Sonoita is nothing more than a collection of gas stations and restaurants. The road is single lane and somewhat secondary in character. Near the hamlet of Vail, State Route 83 ends at Interstate 10, 20 miles southeast of Tucson.
History
According to Citypopulationreview, State Route 83 was created in 1927, despite the road’s minor importance. The Parker Canyon Lake has some importance for recreation as there are not many lakes in this part of Arizona.
Traffic intensities
Only 200 vehicles drive to Parker Canyon Lake daily. This increases to 1,900 vehicles in Sonoita and 2,800 vehicles further to I-10.
State Route 84 in Arizona
| SR-84 | |||
| Get started | I-8 | ||
| End | Casa Grande | ||
| Length | 24 mi | ||
| Length | 38 km | ||
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State Route 84 is a state route in the U.S. state of Arizona. The road connects Interstate 8 to Casa Grande. State Route 84 is 38 kilometers long.
Travel directions
The SR-84 at Casa Grande.
State Route 84 begins in the desert at a junction with Interstate 8 and heads northeast for a bit, then east for some distance parallel to I-8 toward Casa Grande. The terrain is flat and is a mix of desert and irrigated agricultural areas. State Route 347 connects towards Phoenix on the western part of the route. State Route 84 ends in the center of the town of Casa Grande at State Route 287 and State Route 387.
History
State Route 84 was created in 1927 and ran between Tucson and Picacho at the time. In 1928, the route was extended westward through Casa Grande to Gila Bend. This made it an alternative to US 80, which made a detour via Phoenix between San Diego and Tucson. In the 1960s, I-10 was built between Casa Grande and Tucson, shortening State Route 84 to Eloy. The original road is now a frontage road of I-10. With the construction of I-8, State Route 84 was also shortened in the west, to its current connection. In 1997 the section between Casa Grande and Eloy was deleted, leaving the current route. The road has only local importance because of the parallel running Interstate 8.
Traffic intensities
Every day, 800 vehicles travel between I-8 and SR-347 and 2,500 vehicles continue to Stanfield, then increasing to 4,800 vehicles at Casa Grande.
State Route 85 in Arizona
| SR-85 | |||
| Get started | Lukeville (MEX) | ||
| End | Buckeye | ||
| Length | 129 mi | ||
| Length | 207 km | ||
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State Route 85 is a state route in the U.S. state of Arizona. The road forms a north-south route in the south of the state, from the Mexican border at Lukeville via Ajo and Gila Bend to Interstate 10 in Buckeye, a western suburb of Phoenix. State Route 85 is 207 kilometers long.
Travel directions
The State Route 85 in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
State Route 85 begins on the border with Mexico, where Carretera federal 8 in Mexico continues to Sonoyta and Puerto Peñasco. State Route 85 is then a single-lane road that heads north through the Sonoran Desert. There are some mountain ridges in the area, but the road mainly runs through plains. The largest town in this region is the mining town of Ajo, which has a large deep open mine.
About 70 kilometers north of Ajo you reach Interstate 8 at Gila Bend. The road then passes through downtown Gila Bend and then heads north through the desert as a 2×2 divided highway, as this section also carries traffic from San Diego to Phoenix. The road runs through Phoenix’s far western suburb of Buckeye and ends at a half stack with Interstate 10, about 31 miles west of downtown Phoenix.
History
State Route 85 was created in 1936 to connect Ajo and Gila Bend. From the 1920s, the importance of Ajo increased due to a large open mine. However, the population has been declining since the 1980s. In 1955, State Route 85 was extended from Ajo to the Mexico border at Lukeville. In 1977, State Route 85 was routed over former US 80 to Phoenix. In 1994, State Route 85 was rerouted along Buckeye to I-10, after which the old Buckeye-Phoenix route was scrapped as part of State Route 85.
State Route 85 is not of major importance for international traffic between the United States and Mexico. The importance of mining in Ajo has also declined, with the population of Ajo more than halved since the 1960s. However, the northern section between Gila Bend and Buckeye is of great importance for through traffic between San Diego and Phoenix, as there is no direct highway connection between the two cities, other than the detour via Casa Grande. State Route 85 is therefore constructed as a divided highway with 2×2 lanes between I-8 and I-10.
The half-star interchange with I-10 at Buckeye was built before 1992. Around 2008, State Route 85 at Buckeye was doubled to 2×2 lanes with a very wide median strip where a freeway could be built between the lanes in the future. In fact, the northernmost 2 kilometers of State Route 85 has already been run as a freeway.
Future
State Route 85 is a potential freeway corridor between Gila Bend and Buckeye. To this end, the main carriageways could be constructed at Buckeye, and elsewhere the existing road could be made grade-separated. The Arizona State Prison Complex in Lewis already has a grade-separated connection, which was built sometime between 1996 and 2003 during the doubling. Gila Bend will require a new bypass.
Traffic intensities
Every day, 800 vehicles use the border with Mexico in Lukeville. This increases to 3,200 vehicles in Ajo and 1,600 vehicles between Ajo and Interstate 8 near Gila Bend. The section between Gila Bend and Buckeye handles between 8,000 and 16,000 vehicles per day.
