From the Archives: Interstate 17 in downtown Phoenix

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

Sometimes when we sort through the ADOT archives we find great photos, but we don’t know when they were taken. That’s the case with this photo showing the southbound lanes of Interstate 17 south of Thomas Road. While we don’t know exactly when this photo was snapped, the vehicles in the photo are a clue.

The photo to the right shows the area now. There may be more freeway lanes in each direction, but the Shamrock sign displaying the temperature is still there!

It’s safe to say things have changed since 1912 when the Arizona Highway Department was first established. But you don’t just have to take our word … we’ve got plenty of pictures to prove it. We combed through our archives and decided to periodically post these photos from the past in a blog series we’re calling, “From the ADOT Archives.”