Skip to main content

Former Arizona State Route 153


Arizona State Route 153 was a 2.12-mile State Highway located in the city of Phoenix along the eastern outskirts of Sky Harbor International Airport.  Arizona State Route 153 was largely a limited access facility known as the Sky Harbor Expressway which began at University Drive and terminated to the north at Washington Street.  Arizona State Route 153 was commissioned during 1985, had a major planned alignment change in 1989 and opened to traffic in 1992.  Arizona State Route 153 was originally planned to continue south of University Drive to Interstate 10, but low traffic counts on the corridor never saw it come to fruition.  Arizona State Route 153 was relinquished by the Arizona Department of Transportation to the city of Phoenix during 2007. 

The map below depicting Arizona State Route 153 was sourced from Wikipedia.  




Part 1; the history of Arizona State Route 153

Arizona State Route 153 and the Sky Harbor Expressway were commissioned as part of the Phoenix Regional Freeway System on April 26, 1985. Arizona State Route 153 was also added to the planned 2005 Maricopa County Regional Transportation Plan. Arizona State Route 153 was originally intended to terminate at Arizona Loop 202 east of what is now Arizona State Route 143. During 1989 the alignment of Arizona State Route 153 north of Sky Harbor Airport to Washington Street was swapped with Arizona State Route 143.

The new planned alignments of Arizona State Route 153, Arizona State Route 143 and Arizona State Route 202 Spur can be seen on an Arizona Department of Transportation document dated April 21, 1989. The planning map depicts Arizona State Route 153 continuing south of University Drive to Interstate 10.


Arizona State Route 153 between University Drive and Washington Street opened as freeway facility during 1992. The original intended terminus of Arizona State Route 153 to Arizona Loop 202 would open as the unsigned Arizona Loop 202 Spur in 1993. The continuation of Arizona State Route 153 to reach Interstate 10 was never pursued due to traffic counts on the corridor being too low.

An Arizona State Route 153 shield can be seen in a 1999 photo from arizonaroads.com.


On May 23, 2007, Arizona State Route 153 was removed from the Maricopa Association of Governments Regional Transportation Plan.


Arizona State Route 153 was relinquished to the city of Phoenix during 2007 and signage was changed to indicate it as part of 44th Street. The October 19, 2007, Resolution of Abandonment of Arizona State Route 153 by the Arizona Department of Transportation can be seen below.











Part 2; a drive on former Arizona State Route 153

Former Arizona State Route 153 northbound begins from University Drive.  A westbound University Drive overhead gantry features a greened-out Arizona State Route 153 shield along with signage directing traffic to Sky Harbor International Airport.  



Former Arizona State Route 153 is now signed from University Drive as 44th Street.  


Former Arizona State Route 153 begins as a limited access road headed northbound.  Despite largely being a limited access facility Former Arizona State Route 153 is signed with an unusually low 40 Mile Per Hour Speed Limit.  Former Arizona State Route 153 crosses the Salt River within view of Papago Park and Camelback Mountain.  









Former Arizona State Route 153 north of the Salt River intersects the unsigned Arizona State Route 202 Spur (Sky Harbor Boulevard). 



Former Arizona State Route 153 continues north of Arizona State Route 202 Spur and becomes a surface road at Madison Street.








The routing of Former Arizona State Route 153 terminated at Washington Street.  



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dillon Road

Dillon Road is a 34.2-mile highway located in northern Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California.  Dillon Road begins at Avenue 48 on the outskirts of Indio and ends to the west at California State Route 62 near San Gorgonio Pass.  Dillon Road was developed the 1930s as a construction road for the Colorado River Aqueduct.  Dillon Road serves as a northern bypass to much of the development of Coachella Valley.  Dillon Road is known for it's frequent dips and spectacular views of San Gorgonio Pass.   Part 1; the history of Dillon Road Dillon Road was constructed as a haul road for the Colorado River Aqueduct through Coachella Valley.  The Colorado River Aqueduct spans 242 miles from Parker Dam on the Colorado River west to Lake Mathews near Corona.  Construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct began during January 1933 near Thousand Palms and was made functional on January 7, 1939.  West of Berdoo Canyon Road the alignment of Dillon Road is largely concurrent with the Colorado

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road is an approximately 21-mile highway located in southeast Kern County.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road begins at Tehachapi Boulevard (former US Route 466) in Tehachapi and crosses the Tehachapi Mountains via the 4,820-foot-high Oak Creek Pass.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road enters Antelope Valley of the wider Mojave Desert and passes by the historic stage station of Willow Springs to a southern terminus at Rosamond Boulevard.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road has historic ties to the Havilah-Los Angeles Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road due to the once reliable presence of water at Willow Springs. Part 1; the history of Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road Oak Creek Pass and Willow Springs were known to the local tribes of the Tehachapi Mountains for generations.  The first documented European crossing of Oak Creek Pass was during 1776 as part of an expedition by Francisco Garces.  Oak Creek Pass is as used again by John C. Fremont during an 1844-1845 expedition to e

The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge

The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge is a derelict structure located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Placer County, California.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge can be found between the communities of Colfax and Iowa Hill.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge is a wire suspension structure which spans the North Fork American River.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge was replaced by a modern span and converted to pedestrian use following floods during 1963.   Part 1; the history of the 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge During 1853 gold was discovered at what to become Iowa Hill.  The gold mining claims soon led to a small community known as Iowa City being established.   By 1854, Post Office Service began at the mines of Iowa City.  By 1856 gold production at Iowa City was estimated to be around $100,000.  Iowa City was burned in fires during 1857 and 1862 but the community was rebuilt with more modernized structures.   The location of Iowa City can be seen as "Iowa Hill" on the 1873 Bancroft