Arizona State Route 153

Infobox road
marker_

state=AZ
highway_name=
name_notes=
type=state
route=153
alternate_name= Sky Harbor Expressway, S. 44th Street
maint=City of Phoenix


length_mi=2.12
length_round=2
length_ref=cite web |url=http://tpd.az.gov/data/reports/2006SHSLog.pdf |title=2006 ADOT Highway Log |author=Arizona Department of Transportation|accessdate=2008-04-09|format=PDF]
length_notes=
established=1992
decommissioned=2007
direction_a=South
starting_terminus=University Dr
beltway_city=
junction=
direction_b=North
ending_terminus=Washington St
counties=Maricopa
cities=Phoenix
system=
previous_type=AZ
previous_route=143
next_type=AZ
next_route=160
browse=
commons=

State Route 153, also known as SR 153 and the Sky Harbor Expressway, is a former state highway in Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona, that runs from the intersection of 44th Street and Washington Street in Phoenix south to University Drive. It is a controlled access arterial expressway, with a speed limit of 45mph, lower than the standard freeway speed of 65 mph. SR 153 is a north-south route that skirts the eastern edge of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, and along with SR 143, SR 153 serves a portion of East Valley residents with access to the airport. The majority of them use SR 143 instead, because of its quick access to and from Interstate 10 and Loop 202. The freeway does, however, provide a direct link between east Phoenix, such as office developments in the Southbank commercial project, and the city of Tempe.

Route description

State Route 153's entire length is within Phoenix. It begins at University Drive, just west of SR 143. It heads northward as an expressway, passing alongside the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Just a little north of the eastern edge of the airport, SR 153 meets Washington Street, where it terminates.

History

The Sky Harbor Expressway was a part of the 1985 Phoenix Regional Freeway System to add freeways in and around the Phoenix Metropolitan Area and a part of the 2005 Maricopa County Regional Transportation Plan to add new freeways and expand existing ones that were built from the original plan.

The northern section between Sky Harbor Airport and the intersection of 44th St and Washington St was formerly SR 143 and had an un-bridged crossing of the Salt River. Reconstruction begin in the early 1990s between Washington St and the exit to Sky Harbor, and the expanded freeway reopened to traffic in 1992. Traffic heading east out of Sky Harbor had two options, head east to Loop 202 near Priest Dr and downtown Tempe, or head north on the new freeway to Washington St where drivers had an option of going west on the completed stretch of Loop 202 (it ended at SR 143 until 1996) or go to the recently completed Hohokam Expressway to get to I-10 and US 60 and head either east or west.

The next section of freeway started construction in 1994 by building a bridge over the Salt River, almost touching the Hohokam Expressway at the halfway point and ending at University Dr. This section opened in 1996 and had drivers another option out of the east exit of the airport. University Dr has direct access to SR 143, which provided access to I-10 and US 60.

The freeway was planned to be extended further south and west to 40th Street to connect to Interstate 10 by the end of 2007, with plans to convert a section of 40th Street to a limited access corridor. An at-grade intersection with Superior Avenue was planned, as well as an overpass of University Dr. But those plans were on hold for quite some time and are now scrapped, because the road is no longer needed. It didn't serve the majority of traffic heading on westbound I-10 and US 60 to Sky Harbor Airport, which was its intention.

Transfer to Phoenix

The former state route was transferred to the city of Phoenix by the Maricopa Association of Governments in August 2007 and the Arizona Department of Transportation in October 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.azhighwaydata.com/resolutions/pdf/resolutionfull/2007-10-A-069.pdf|author=Arizona Department of Transportation|accessdate=2008-04-15|date=2007-10-19|title=Resolution of Abandonment - State Route 153|format=PDF] Extremely low traffic volumes, especially in comparison to the nearby Hohokam Expressway, also helped cement MAG's decision. SR 153 was considered redundant from the start because SR 143 runs completely parallel and provides access to all major freeways in the vicinity.

The city of Phoenix is planning to take over the maintenance and right of way of the Sky Harbor Expressway in order to construct the starter line of the Sky Harbor Airport Automated People Mover, which would be complete in 2013.

SR 153 was deleted from the regional transportation plan as of August 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.mag.maricopa.gov/detail.cms?item=7482|title=May 2007 Regional Council Activity Report|source=Maricopa Association of Governments.] As of April 20, 2008, references to SR 153 (reassurance and junction signs) on the Sky Harbor Expressway, University Dr., and Washington St. (southern and northern terminus, respectively) have been removed. In late June 2008, the Sky Harbor Expressway name was dropped, and all signs and references to the highway were changed to 44th St.

Traffic

While the Hohokam Expressway has peak hour traffic issues, it is still adequately handling most of the Sky Harbor Airport traffic that comes from the East Valley off of Interstate 10 and US 60, thus SR 153 had always been consistently under-utilized. There are plans to widen the Hohokam Expressway between the junction of I-10 and Sky Harbor with new and expanded flyover ramps at the junction with I-10.

Future plans

In 2007, the City of Phoenix expressed interest in assuming responsibility for SR 153, specifically with the intention of building a people mover transit system for Sky Harbor Airport along the alignment of the current freeway. In response, the Maricopa Association of Governments began the process to amend the regional transportation plan to delete the SR 153 segment from the plan [cite web|url=http://www.mag.maricopa.gov/detail.cms?item=7482|title=May 2007 Regional Council Activity Report|source=Maricopa Association of Governments] and ADOT has suspended planning for the freeway's expansion. [cite news|url=http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0614ar-airporttrain14-ON.html|title=Phoenix looking at Sky Harbor people mover|first=Kerry |last=Fehr-Snyder|publisher=Arizona Republic] Consequently, SR 153 was dropped from the State Highway System in August 2007.

Exit list

The entire route is in Phoenix, Maricopa County.

External links

* [http://www.rockymountainroads.com/az-153.html Sky Harbor Expressway Guide]

References

ee also

* List of Arizona State Routes
* Metropolitan Phoenix Freeways
* Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport