Arizona State Route 143 the Hohokam Expressway

This past week I fly above Arizona State Route 143 heading eastbound out of Sky Harbor International Airport. AZ 143 is a freeway I frequented while living in the Phoenix area between 2001 to 2013.

AZ 143 is a short approximately 4 mile Freeway from 48th Street/Interstate 10 north over the Salt River to AZ 202/McDowell Road. AZ 143 serves essentially as a connector freeway between I-10, AZ 202 and the east entrance of Sky Harbor International Airport. AZ 143 is known as the Hohokam Expressway.

The legislative history of AZ 143 dates back to the late 1950s when the route was planned as a connector to the planned freeways in Phoenix. AZ 143 opened to traffic in 1978 as a parkway which essentially the 40th Street entrance to Sky Harbor which was subsequently dismantled to make way for present terminal complex. During the 1990s AZ 143 was converted to a freeway grade and recently had the interchange with AZ 202 replaced as of 2011.

AZ 143 in present configuration has only a partial ramp freeway-to-freeway interchange with I-10. At present moment only I-10 east to AZ 143 north has an at-grade interchange while all other travel directions have freeway ramps. Surface traffic on AZ 143 southbound becomes 48th Street. The photo below is of I-10 westbound approaching AZ 143 northbound.

Northbound AZ 143 continues briefly beyond AZ 202 where it terminates at-grade at McDowell Road. This northbound guide sign shows exits; 3B for Sky Harbor, exit 4 for Washington Street and Exit 5 for AZ 202.

Comments

The case to move Interstate 73 in Southern Ohio onto US 33

Every decade or so, Ohio pushes to revisit the proposed Interstate 73 that would connect Michigan to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It's been happening since Congress legislated the route in 1991. Within Ohio, Interstate 73 generally follows the US 23 corridor from Portsmouth through Columbus to Toledo, and into Michigan. Since High Priority Corridor Five was created , Ohio has really done nothing to move forward with Interstate 73. Sure, there have been feasibility studies here and there. But actual dollars and construction just haven't occurred. The US 33 Nelsonville Bypass appears to have been built to Interstate standards. However, Ohio has been slowly upgrading US 33 to a full freeway through Southeastern Ohio. Bypasses of Lancaster and Nelsonville opened in 2004 and 2013, respectively. Other sections of two-lane road are being twinned, some to freeway or, at a minimum, to expressway standards. Currently, a $274 million widening project in...

Local Sign Find - The last remnant of Business Interstate 95 between Kenly and Rocky Mount , NC

As you head north on Interstate 95 at Exit 107 for Kenly and US 301, you'll notice something odd about the overhead sign for the exit. Peeling off the sign for all that can see is the word 'NORTH' off-center from the US 301. This old sign (probably close to original from when this section of I-95 opened - more on that in a little bit) gives a hint to a short-lived Business Interstate Route that ran from here to Rocky Mount. The last hint of the Kenly-Wilson-Rocky Mount Business I-95 (Shaun White - August 2020) Interstate 95 in North Carolina has a unique history. But one of the overlooked and forgotten pieces of Interstate 95 in North Carolina is the 38 mile section between Kenly and Rocky Mount. When opened to traffic in late 1978, it was the next to last piece of Interstate 95 in North Carolina to open replacing a four lane US 301 from Battleboro through Rocky Mount and Wilson to eventually tying back into the Interstate in Kenly. Though it was not delayed in l...

Nostalgia fast food with style - Returning to Rax

Nostalgia. It sells. It evokes, and more accurately, warps memories of days gone by. Things were better, simpler, and we eat it up. Nostalgia can make you drive three hours and over a hundred miles out of your way just to reconnect with a dying fast-food restaurant you last enjoyed in the early to mid-90s. That person was me - that restaurant was Rax. I could go on about Rax's history, but in short, Rax was briefly a very popular roast beef fast-food chain. Growing up in the 80s and early 90s in Western PA, Rax was the good fast-food spot. The milkshakes. (Personally, the chocolate chip milkshake was heaven.) Uncle Alligator Kids Meal with the chocolate chip cookie. Take that McDonald's Happy Meal! The fancy salad and hot foods bar. Going to Rax was special. Like so many similar restaurants, various investments, management decisions, etc., led Rax to almost disappear overnight. By the time I graduated college in late 1999, abou...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog