U.S. Route 93 in Arizona

Infobox road
marker_

state=AZ
highway_name=
name_notes=
type=US
route=93
alternate_name=
maint=ADOT


length_mi=200.13
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=2008-05-01]
length_notes=Includes I-40 overlap of convert|22.83|mi|km|2
established=
decommissioned=
direction_a=South
starting_terminus=jct|state=AZ|US|60 in Wickenburg
junction=jct|state=AZ|I|40 in Kingman
direction_b=North
ending_terminus=jct|state=NV|US|93 at Hoover Dam
previous_type=AZ
previous_route=92
next_type=AZ
next_route=93
commons=

In the U.S. state of Arizona, U.S. Route 93 is a U.S. Highway that begins in Wickenburg and heads north to the Nevada border at the Hoover Dam.

Route description

The southern terminus of US 93 is located at a junction with US 60 in Wickenburg, a small town about convert|50|mi|km|0 northwest of Phoenix. It heads towards the northwest from this junction to an intersection with SR 89 northwest of Wickenburg. SR 89 heads north to Prescott while US 93 continues its northwesterly heading. US 93 continues to the northwest to a junction with SR 71 at a diamond interchange southwest of Congress. As it continues to the northwest, the highway is known as the Joshua Tree Forest Parkway of Parkway. The highway continues towards the northwest to a junction with SR 97 prior to passing through the town of Wikieup. After passing through Wikieup, US 93 curves towards the north to merge with I-40 at exit 71. The two highways share the same alignment heading west until they reach Kingman. The two split in Kingman with I-40 heading towards the southwest towards California and US 93 heading towards the northwest towards Las Vegas. Northwest of Kingman, US 93 has an interchange with SR 68 which heads west to Bullhead City and serves as a bypass of Hoover Dam for traffic heading to Las Vegas but are not allowed to cross the dam. The highway continues towards the northwest and as it nears the Nevada border, it goes through a series of hairpin turns as it descends into Black Canyon to cross Hoover Dam. US 93 continues into Nevada to the cities of Boulder and Las Vegas. [cite map|publisher=Google Maps|title=Overview map of US 93 in Arizona|accessdate=2008-05-01|url=http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=6958413401657630849,33.968890,-112.730040%3B12871378795420850533,36.016210,-114.737230&saddr=N+Tegner+St%2FUS-93+%4033.968890,+-112.730040&daddr=US-93+%4036.016210,+-114.737230&doflg=ptm&sll=34.99255,-113.733635&sspn=3.599751,6.04248&ie=UTF8&z=7]

History

The route between Kingman and Hoover Dam first became part of the state highway system in 1934 when it was designated as SR 69. [cite web|author=Arizona Department of Transportation|title=ADOT Right-of-Way Resolution 1934-P-066|url=http://www.azhighwaydata.com/resolutions/?resnum=1934-P-066|accessdate=2008-05-01] At the time, Hoover Dam was still under construction and the highway did not link to Nevada. The dam was completed the following year in 1935 enabling traffic to cross over the top of the dam. [cite web|author=Bureau of Reclamation|accessdate=2008-05-01|url=http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/History/articles/chrono.html|title=Hoover Dam Chronology] In that year, US 93 and US 466 were designated over SR 69 from Kingman to Hoover Dam.cite web|url=http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/us93.htm|title=U.S. 93 Reaching For The Border|author=Federal Highway Administration|accessdate=2008-05-01]

In 1936, Arizona proposed for an extension of US 93 from Kingman to Ash Fork, overlapping US 66, and then south to Phoenix. This proposal was protested by the towns of Aguila and Wickenburg that argued that US 93 should pass through their towns rather than the proposed alignment to the east. The town of Wickenburg contested that a direct routing between Phoenix and Kingman would be convert|100|mi|km|0 shorter than the routing through Ash Fork and that it would provide a necessary connection between Phoenix, the state capital, and the northwestern part of the state.

Until 1993, US 93 ended a short distance north of Wickenburg, Arizona at a junction with U.S. Route 89. When US 89 was decommissioned in the area, the US 93 designation was carried on into Wickenburg.

Future

US 93 (with US 60 to the southeast of Wickenburg) is the shortest route between the fast-growing cities of Las Vegas and Phoenix, two of the largest cities in America. Upgrades of US 60 and US 93 to expressway status are scheduled between Las Vegas and Phoenix.

A segment of the new highway is in the very early stages of construction (in 2004) in the area of Hoover Dam; the Hoover Dam Bypass will replace a highway now closed to truck traffic due to security concerns over the dam since the September 11, 2001 attacks. The bypass will cross the Colorado River on a new bridge downstream of the dam. It will make unnecessary the truck detour through either Laughlin, Nevada or Needles, California.

Junction list

References