Skip to main content

Former Arizona State Route 153

By


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.  



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more