Transportation in Arizona

Highways

Main interstate routes include I-17, and I-19 running north-south, I-40, I-8, and I-10 running east-west, and a short stretch of I-15 running northeast/southwest through the extreme northwestern corner of the state.

Phoenix

Phoenix is served by a combination of interstates, U.S. Highways, and state routes, many of which were funded by a ½ cent general sales tax measure approved by Maricopa County voters in 1985. New freeways are constantly being added to the area, such as the Loop 101, Loop 202, and eventually SR 801 and SR 802. Currently, two major interstates serve the area, Interstate 10 and Interstate 17. In the past decade, more than 100 miles of new freeway have been constructed in the metro-Phoenix region by ADOT.

Tucson

The Tucson metropolitan area is primarily served by I-10, I-19 and State Route 77. I-19 departs from I-10 in the southern part of Tucson, runs through southern Tucson (including an exit serving the historic Mission San Xavier) and the retirement community of Green Valley and terminates in Nogales, in Santa Cruz County, at the international border with Mexico. Destination signs on I-19 have metric distance figures in kilometers instead of standard miles. State Route 77 serves North Tucson and Tucson's northern suburbs including Casas Adobes, Catalina Foothills, Oro Valley, and Catalina. State Route 77 continues northward until it terminates at the Navajo Indian Reservation in northeastern Arizona.

State Route 210 (Barraza-Aviation Parkway) is a limited-access parkway built in the early 1990s to connect downtown Tucson to the southeastern portion of the city. Few new limited-access roads are in the plans in Tucson due to strong community opposition to freeways. However, a large-scale reconstruction and expansion of Interstate 10 is under way and expected to be complete in 2009.

Yuma, Flagstaff & Casa Grande

Yuma is served by I-8, while Casa Grande served by I-8 and I-10; Flagstaff is served by I-17 and I-40. U.S. Route 95 parallels the Colorado River, from Las Vegas to the Mexican border near Yuma.

Historic U.S. Route 66, a major route for Midwestern emigrants prior to the advent of the interstate highway system, traversed the northern part of the state, passing through Flagstaff and Kingman. Route 66 in Arizona closely followed the route of what is now Interstate 40 except for an 88 mile stretch between Seligman and Kingman now known as State Route 66, where the route veered to the north passing through Peach Springs.

Public transportation and intercity bus

The Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas are served by public bus transit systems. Yuma and Flagstaff also have public bus systems. Greyhound Lines serves Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma, and several smaller communities statewide.

A light rail system called Valley Metro Rail is currently being built in Phoenix. When completed, it will connect Central Phoenix with the nearby cities of Mesa and Tempe. The system is projected to be operational by December 2008.

In May 2006, voters in Tucson approved a Regional Transportation Plan (a comprehensive bus transit/streetcar/roadway improvement program), and its funding via a new half-cent sales tax increment. The centerpiece of the plan is a light rail streetcar system (possibly similar to the Portland Streetcar in Oregon) that will travel through the downtown area, connecting the main University of Arizona campus with the Rio Nuevo master plan area on the western edge of downtown. [ [http://www.lightrailnow.org/news/n_tuc_2006-05b.htm Tucson: Streetcar Plan Wins With 60% of Vote] ]

Aviation

Airports with regularly scheduled commercial flights include: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (IATA: PHX, ICAO: KPHX) in Phoenix (the largest airport and the major international airport in the state); Tucson International Airport (IATA: TUS, ICAO: KTUS) in Tucson; Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (IATA: AZA, ICAO: KIWA) in Mesa; Yuma International Airport (IATA: YUM, ICAO: KYUM) in Yuma; Prescott Municipal Airport (PRC) in Prescott; Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (IATA: FLG, ICAO: KFLG) in Flagstaff, and Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCP), a small, but busy, single-runway facility providing tourist flights, mostly from Las Vegas. Phoenix Sky Harbor is the 7th busiest airport in the world in terms of aircraft movements, and regularly in the top 15 for passengers.

Other significant airports without regularly scheduled commercial flights include Scottsdale Municipal Airport (IATA: SCF, ICAO: KSDL) in Scottsdale.

("See also: List of airports in Arizona")

Passenger Rail

Two Amtrak routes serve Arizona communities: the "Southwest Chief" passes through Winslow, Flagstaff, and Kingman, while the "Texas Eagle" passes through Benson, Tucson, Maricopa and Yuma. Although the "Texas Eagle" passes much closer to Phoenix than the "Southwest Chief" does, Phoenix is linked to the Amtrak system via motorcoach from Flagstaff.

References