Skip to main content

2016 Fall Mountain Trip Part 20; US Route 160 in Arizona

Following reaching the western terminus of US Route 163 in Kayenta I turned west on US Route 160 towards US 89 and the Grand Canyon.


This blog serves as Part 20 of the 2016 Fall Mountain Trip Series, Part 19 can be found here:

2016 Fall Mountain Trip Part 19; US Route 163 through Monument Valley 

US 160 through Arizona is entirely contained within the Navajo Nation from the New Mexico State line westward to US 89 near Tuba City.  The current designation of US 160 was extended into Arizona in 1970.

The original designations on the current corridor of US 160 in Arizona was AZ 364 from the New Mexico State Line west to Teec Nos Pos and AZ 64 all the way to US 89.  The designation of AZ 64 was extended east of Cameron in 1961 to the New Mexico State Line via the current corridor of US 160 and US 64.  AZ 64 can be seen built all the way east to the Navajo County line on this 1961 Arizona Highway sectional map.

1961 Arizona Highway Sectional Map

In 1966 the current route of US 160 from the New Mexico State Line to US 89 was changed to US 164.  US 164 from Arizona extended eastward to a terminus at Cortez, Colorado.  Within Arizona the route of US 164 apparently multiplexed US 89 all the way to Flagstaff.   Some of the US 164 field signage can be seen on USends.com.

USends on US 164

In 1970 US 160 was rerouted from Crescent Junction, Utah onto it's current route in Arizona.  The change to US 160 can be seen on this 1971 Arizona Highway sectional map.

1971 Arizona Highway Sectional Map

As shown in the blog cover photo I made a right hand turn from US 163 onto US 160 westbound in Kayenta of Navajo County. West of Tsegi US 160 meets a significant junction with AZ 564 which is an artifact of AZ  64.


AZ 564 provides access to Navajo National Monument and was covered on a previous blog.

Arizona State Route 564 and Navajo National Monument

Near the Coconino County Line US 160 west intersects AZ 98.


In Tuba City US 160 west intersects AZ 264.  AZ 264 is the longest child route of AZ 64 and extends east through the Hopi Nation and Navajo Nation to NM 264.


West of Tuba City US 160 terminates at US 89.  I turned southward on US 89 to reach AZ 64 to access Grand Canyon National Park.



Part 21 of the 2016 Fall Mountain Trip series covers former US Route 89 over the 1911 Cameron Suspension Bridge.

2016 Fall Mountain Trip Part 21; former US Route 89 on the Cameron Suspension Bridge

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Petroleum Club Road (former California State Route 33 and US Route 399 past the Lakeview Gusher)

Petroleum Club Road is an approximately 5.3-mile rural highway located in the Sunset Oil Field of western Kern County.  This corridor was constructed as a frontage road of the Sunset Railroad and would be the site of the Lakeview Gusher in 1910.  Petroleum Club Road was the original alignment of California State Route 33 and US Route 399 between 1934-1938.  In 1938 the West Side Highway was constructed west of Lakeview Gusher and still serves as the current alignment of California State Route 33.   Part 1; the history of Petroleum Club Road Petroleum Club Road is the original highway which linked the oil communities of Maricopa and Taft.  Both cities were developed around the early boom of the Sunset Oil Field.  The early Sunset Oil Field can be seen centered along Cienega Canyon Road southwest of Buena Vista Lake in Township 11 North, Range 23 West on the 1898 Kern County Surveyors map .  In 1901 Post Office Service would be established at the Su...

Hawaii Route 50

Hawaii Route 50 is the longest Sign Route on the island of Kauai at 32.6 miles.  The entirety of Hawaii Route 50 is overlaid atop Kaumualii Highway from Lihue west to the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands. Hawaii Route 50 is one of the original 1955-era State Highway designations on Kauai.  Much of the Kaumualii Highway corridor was constructed during the sugar plantation boom of the late Hawaiian Kingdom.  The first tee beam bridge in Hawaii would be constructed along the Kaumualii Highway in 1911 at the Hanapepe.  Much of this highway would be modernized to two-lane standards through the 1930s and 1940s. This page is part of the Gribblenation Hawaii Roads series.  A compellation of all Hawaii-related media from both Gribblenation and RoadwayWiz can be found by clicking  here .  Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 50 and Kaumualii Highway Hawaii Route 50 is the longest highway on Kauai at 32.6 miles.  The highway begins at Rice Str...

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...