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U.S. Route 89 in Arizona

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This article is about the section of U.S. Route 89 in Arizona. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 89.
U.S. Route 89 marker
U.S. Route 89
Map
US 89 highlighted in red; US 89T in blue
Route information
Maintained by ADOT, City of Flagstaff
Length136.49 mi[1] (219.66 km)
Major junctions
South end BL 40 / US 180 in Flagstaff
Major intersections SR 64 in Cameron
US 160 near Tuba City
US 89A near Bitter Springs
North end US 89 northwest of Page
Location
CountryUnited States
StateArizona
CountiesCoconino
Highway system
  • Arizona State Highway System
← SR 88→ SR 89
U.S. 89 crossing Glen Canyon
U.S. 89 near Flagstaff

U.S. Route 89 (US 89) in the U.S. state of Arizona is a U.S. Highway that begins in Flagstaff and heads north to the Utah border northwest of Page.

Route description

U.S. 89 begins at Flagstaff, Arizona. The highway proceeds north passing near Grand Canyon National Park and through the Navajo Nation. Near the Utah state line the highway splits into U.S. 89 and U.S. Route 89A. The Alternate is the original highway; what is now the main highway was constructed in the 1960s to serve the Glen Canyon Dam. The two highways rejoin in Kanab, Utah.

The main branch passes over the Colorado River just south of the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell near Page then enters Utah. The Alternate branch crosses the Colorado River at Navajo Bridge and proceeds to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon before entering Utah.

History

Prior to 1992,[2] the southern terminus of US 89 was at Nogales, Arizona. US 89 ran concurrently with Interstate 19 (I-19) until Green Valley. The route was taken (in a northerly direction) through Tucson via 6th Avenue, Congress Street and Granada Avenue. The route was carried out of Tucson via State Route 77 (SR 77). Further north it was carried via the Pinal Pioneer Parkway northwest out of Oracle Junction on SR 79. In Maricopa County, it ran concurrently with existing US 60 along Main Street in Mesa, Apache Boulevard and Mill Avenue in Tempe, then along Van Buren Street in Phoenix to Grand Avenue,[3] then to Wickenburg. Departing Wickenburg, it followed US 93 and SR 89 to Prescott. Departing Prescott, the route followed present-day SR 89 to Ash Fork, then ran east concurrently with I-40 to Flagstaff.

In Flagstaff, US 89 ran along old Route 66, Milton Road and Santa Fe Avenue. The highway crossed the Little Colorado River at Cameron on the Cameron Suspension Bridge until 1959, when the bridge was retired and replaced by a parallel span.[4]

On February 20, 2013,[5] the main alignment of US 89 was closed in both directions approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Page due to a landslide that caused the roadway to buckle and subside. Traffic was re-routed via 45 miles (72 km) of secondary and tertiary roads on the Navajo Reservation. Alternate routes through Las Vegas, Nevada, or Hurricane, Utah, and Marble Canyon (US 89A) were also suggested.[6] US 89T (see below) opened in August 2013 as a bypass of the closed section, utilizing Navajo Route 20 as an alignment.

U.S. 89 reopened in March 2015 after a $25 million repair project.[5]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Coconino County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Flagstaff418.37673.30

 BL 40 / US 180 to I-17 / I-40 – Phoenix, Albuquerque		National southern terminus; former interchange, now at-grade T-intersection; highway continues west as I-40 BL/US 180 (former US 89 south)
Cameron465.21748.68
 SR 64 west – Grand Canyon		Roundabout; eastern terminus of SR 64
​480.80773.77
 US 160 east – Tuba City, Kayenta		Western terminus of US 160
Bitter Springs524.01843.31
 US 89A north – Jacob Lake, Fredonia		Southern terminus of US 89A; former US 89 north
Page546.20879.02
 SR 98 east – Kayenta, Antelope Point		Western terminus of SR 98
Glen Canyon NRA556.84896.15
 US 89 north		Continuation into Utah
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

U.S. Route 89T

U.S. Route 89T marker
U.S. Route 89T
LocationThe Gap–Page
Length46.17 mi[7] (74.30 km)
Existed2013–2015
Navajo Route 20
LocationThe Gap–Page
Length43.57 mi[7] (70.12 km)

U.S. Route 89T (US 89T or US 89X) was the designation for Navajo Route 20 (N20), a road running mostly parallel to US 89 in Arizona. Added to the Arizona state highway system in 2013, US 89T served as a temporary detour for a closed section of US 89. The route was 46.17 miles (74.30 kilometres) long.[7]

The need for US 89T arose in February 2013, when a geological event caused a 150-foot (46 m)[8] stretch of US 89 to buckle 25 miles (40 km) south of Page. The loss of this stretch of road forced detours for traffic entering the Page area from the south. The Navajo Nation declared a state of emergency.[9] Motorists were rerouted on a 115-mile (185 km) detour via US 160 and SR 98 or a 90-mile (145 km) detour on N20, which had a 28-mile (45 km) unpaved stretch. At the same time, commute times into Page increased, and merchants in Page and the surrounding area lost significant business.

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) added the road to the state highway system as US 89T and quickly moved to get money ($35 million from the Federal Highway Administration's emergency relief project fund) and equipment to pave the road. As the Navajo had wanted to pave N20 for decades, and some design and environmental clearances had already been obtained, it took just 79 days to pave N20 in a project that might have otherwise taken more than a year.[10][11] In addition to pavement, right-of-way and fencing to separate the road from the local livestock population were required.[12] The improved road opened to traffic on August 29, 2013. Plans called for the road to be used for three years before the road reverted to Bureau of Indian Affairs jurisdiction.[13]

Initially, the route lacked proper fencing, cattle guards, and pavement markings to support safe travel at higher speeds. As a result, US 89T was open to local traffic only at night, and posted speed limits as low as 25 miles per hour (40 km/h).[10] As of October 15, US 89T restrictions were lifted following the installation of upgraded control features.[14]

With the reopening of mainline US 89 in March 2015, the US 89T designation was retired and ownership of the route returned to the Navajo Nation in April 2015. The route from The Gap to SR 98 is currently designated only as N20.[15]

Major intersections

The entire route was in Coconino County.

Locationmi[7]kmDestinationsNotes
The Gap0.0000.000

 US 89 to US 89A north – Flagstaff, Fredonia

 N20 begins		Southern terminus of US 89T; current southern terminus of N20; southern end of N20 concurrency
​7.87212.669
 N21 north (Kaibito Road) – Kaibito		Southern terminus of N21
Page43.57070.119
 N20 ends

 SR 98 east – Kayenta		Northern terminus of N20; northern end of N20 concurrency; southern end of SR 98 concurrency
46.17474.310

 SR 98 ends / US 89 north – Page		Northern terminus of US 89T; northern end of SR 98 concurrency
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Arizona Department of Transportation. "2008 ADOT Highway Log" (PDF). Retrieved April 9, 2008.
  2. ^ "Report of the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering to the Executive Committee" (PDF). American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. June 15, 1992.
  3. ^ "Web site of the US Route 89 Appreciation Society". Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  4. ^ Fraser, Clayton B. (October 31, 2004). "Cameron Suspension Bridge" (PDF). Historic Bridge Inventory. Arizona Department of Transportation. pp. 308–311. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "U.S. 89 to open March". Navajo-Hopi Observer. March 17, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  6. ^ Stocks, Deborah (February 20, 2013). "US 89 south of Page buckles, collapses". Phoenix, AZ: KNXV-TV. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d Arizona Department of Transportation. "2013 ADOT Highway Log" (PDF). Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  8. ^ Hwang, Kristen (February 25, 2013). "U.S. Highway 89A near Page remains open despite road collapse". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  9. ^ Kane, Jenny (February 25, 2013). "Navajo Nation to declare emergency after road collapse". The Daily News. Farmington, NM. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  10. ^ a b Dungan, Ron (August 30, 2013). "Road less traveled eases trek near Page". Arizona Republic. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  11. ^ . April 17, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKY3scPIMd8. Retrieved May 21, 2015. {{cite AV media}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ^ De Welles, Angela (August 16, 2013). "Work on N20 isn't finished yet". ADOTBlog. Arizona Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  13. ^ "NDOT: Navajo Route 20 to open Aug. 29". Lake Powell Chronicle. August 27, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  14. ^ "Newly completed US 89 bypass fully open with no restrictions". Arizona Department of Transportation. October 15, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  15. ^ "US Highway 89 south of Page reopens after 2013 landslide". News Article. St. George News. March 29, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

Further reading

  • Pry, Mark E.; Andersen, Fred (2011). "From Border to Border: U.S. Route 89" (PDF). Arizona Transportation History. Phoenix: Arizona Department of Transportation Research Center. pp. 95–97. Final Report 660.
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U.S. Route 89
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