Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday: Construction of Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway

Throwback Thursday: Construction of Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway

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Throwback Thursday: Construction of Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway

Throwback Thursday: Construction of Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway

By Julian Lopez / ADOT Communications
December 1, 2022

Let's take it back a little bit.

Not too far, but just enough to when a major Phoenix-area freeway was starting construction.

The man pictured is hard at work on what would become the Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway. Specifically, this segment is just east of the future Mini-Stack.

While the date of the picture is unknown, we know it’s in the early 1990s as the Red Mountain Freeway opened in 1993.

Here are some other fun facts about Loop 202 Red Mountain:

  • Its original name was the East Papago Freeway.
  • The portion between the Mini Stack and Loop 101 was originally designed as State Route 217 until 1987 when the Loop 202 idea was created.
  • The Red Mountain Freeway is the northern leg of the Valley’s Loop 202. Stretching from the Mini Stack interchange with I-10 and State Route 51 in Phoenix, it travels more than 30 miles eastward to US 60 in Mesa. The Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway was completed in 2008. 
  • The freeway also served as a filming location for the 2007 blockbuster movie “The Kingdom.”

Throwback Thursday: That unmistakable Curve

Throwback Thursday: That unmistakable Curve

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Throwback Thursday: That unmistakable Curve

Throwback Thursday: That unmistakable Curve

By John LaBarbera / ADOT Communications
September 29, 2022

Today we throwback to 1966. It was a banner year for transportation in popular culture: Adam West’s Batman debuted, driving his Batmobile all over Gotham City, Star Trek began exploring strange new worlds at warp speed on NBC, and NASA launched Lunar Orbiter 1, the first U.S. craft to orbit the moon.

Here in Arizona, construction of the cross-continental Interstate 10 was taking shape. And if you’ve been here long enough, you immediately know that this photo shows the Broadway Curve in Tempe.

The buttes that hug the interstate are instantly recognizable, as is Broadway Road swooping out from the bottom left corner of the photo. This section of I-10 opened to vehicles in 1968.

What you see in this photo is a stark contrast to the I-10 Broadway Curve Improvement Project now underway in and around the this area. Areas of farmland have been replaced by homes, businesses and Tempe Diablo Stadium, which would open just three years after this photo was taken.

Throwback Thursday: Globe trekkin'

Throwback Thursday: Globe trekkin'

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Throwback Thursday: Globe trekkin'

Throwback Thursday: Globe trekkin'

By John LaBarbera / ADOT Communications
September 22, 2022

Today’s Throwback Thursday takes us around the Globe. Literally. To that small city off US 60 known as Globe, Arizona.

The year in this photo is 1973. And believe it or not, it was found undated in our archives. However, we extrapolated the year based on that movie theatre marquee on the left side of the picture.

“Westworld,” starring Yul Brenner debuted in theatres nationwide during the summer of 1973. And unlike the hit HBO series based on it, the film was only a modest success at the box office. Off a budget of $1.2 million, “Westworld” raked in $10 million.

Also in this photo, we see the Woolworth Building. It was built in 1910 as the Sultan Brothers General Merchandise building. The  F. W. Woolworth Company took over in 1916 and it was the very last Woolworth store to close west of the Mississippi River in 1997. And just behind it, if you’ve lived in Arizona long enough, you’ll spot the iconic sign of the Valley National Bank.

Just a few years after this photo was taken, the City of Globe celebrated its centennial. It was founded around 1875 and incorporated in 1907. Like many cities and towns dotted along the Arizona map, Globe was founded as a mining camp. In fact, mining is still a huge factor of Globe’s economy today.

Throwback Tuesday: Connecting the Valley, one freeway at a time

Throwback Tuesday: Connecting the Valley, one freeway at a time

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Throwback Tuesday: Connecting the Valley, one freeway at a time

Throwback Tuesday: Connecting the Valley, one freeway at a time

By John LaBarbera / ADOT Communications
August 30, 2022

The summer of 1988 was, indeed, a memorable one. An historic heat wave had folks Sweatin’ to the Oldies in much of the country, the Summer Olympics in Seoul was the last to feature the Soviet Union and East Germany, coincidentally, the two nations with the most medals in the competition, and Roger Rabbit made his big screen debut in a cinematic masterstroke.

Here in Arizona, the Valley was growing (when isn’t it?). And that summer, the very first stretch of Loop 101 Agua Fria, then known as the Outer Loop Freeway, was open from Northern to Peoria avenues.

On-hand for the event was Arizona’s first female governor, Rose Mofford. She took those big ceremonial scissors and cut the ribbon with ease, dedicating just the latest in what would be a continuous addition of freeway miles in the Valley of the Sun.

Today, Loop 101 spans over 61 miles from I-10 in Tolleson up through Peroia and across Phoenix, before it turns south over Scottsdale and eventually spills into the Loop 202 Santan Freeway in Chandler.

ADOT continues to open new highways to this day. Just recently, we completed the latest phase of State Route 24 in the east Valley, with much more on the way.

Throwback Thursday: Pool it!

Throwback Thursday: Pool it!

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Throwback Thursday: Pool it!

Throwback Thursday: Pool it!

By John LaBarbera / ADOT Communications
June 9, 2022

Today’s Throwback Thursday entry takes us to the Phoenix Zoo with a message that resonates even today.

Here we see a kangaroo, proudly presenting a sign encouraging the practice of carpooling.

“Share the Ride!” implores the sign, which feature a happy mother kangaroo toting four delightful joeys in her pouch. The sign is punctuated at the bottom, telling motorists to “Pool it!”

As a side note, a female kangaroo is only able to hold up to two joeys in her pouch at once, and only if one is significantly smaller than the other one. Though, we suppose presenting a zoologically accurate portrait would greatly diminish the message.

While we found this picture undated in our archives, our spidey-sense gives us an estimate of late ‘60s or early ‘70s. Even today, five decades later, there are plenty of benefits to carpooling. For one, it greatly reduces personal expenses when it comes to travel; things like fuel and maintenance costs.

Sick of traffic jams? Carpooling could very well be the answer. More people carpooling means fewer cars on the road. Plus, carpools have HOV lanes during key commute times in the mornings and afternoons. You can’t beat that!

So when it’s time for you to plan your next automobile journey, take a hint from a cartoon kangaroo and her babies: Share the ride! Pool it!

Throwback Thursday: I-17 in 1970

Throwback Thursday: I-17 in 1970

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Throwback Thursday: I-17 in 1970

Throwback Thursday: I-17 in 1970

By John LaBarbera / ADOT Communications
June 2, 2022

This Thursday, we’re throwing back more than a half century with this entry from 1970.

In the foreground, we see Interstate 17, which, two years earlier, was officially dedicated as Maricopa Freeway from 16th Street to the Durango Curve, and as Black Canyon Freeway north to Carefree Highway.

Cars can be seen zooming across the highway, crossing over Central Avenue. The overpass, Central Avenue Bridge, underwent a modernizing reconstruction project last year. 

Central Avenue is seen in this photo transporting motorists to and from downtown Phoenix and beyond, just as it ends at the cusp of the North Mountain Preserve in Sunnyslope.

This snapshot from 1970 does not look all that different from today. Though I-17 may be wider, downtown may have a few more skyscrapers, and we generally shoot photos in color, though film is definitely a thing of the past. 

Throwback Thursday: Are you putting me on?

Throwback Thursday: Are you putting me on?

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Throwback Thursday: Are you putting me on?

Throwback Thursday: Are you putting me on?

By John LaBarbera / ADOT Communications
April 28, 2022

Today we throwback to a time when seatbelts had just transitioned from vehicular novelty to safety necessity. 

These two men, possibly representatives of ADOT’s predecessor, the Arizona Highway Department, are presenting Arizona Governor Jack Williams with a sign that encourages motorists to wear their seatbelts.

At the time, though, there were no laws on the books regarding the use of seatbelts. In fact, the first seatbelt law didn’t go into effect in the United States until New York enacted one in 1984.

Seatbelts were first offered as an option by major automobile manufacturers in the mid 1950s and didn’t become standard until almost decade later.

While this photograph did not come with an exact date in our archives, judging from the fashions worn by these gentlemen, we guess this meeting took place during Willams’ first term as Governor, which began January 1967. 

Encouraging seatbelt use is certainly not an old fashioned warning from a bygone era. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 47% of passenger vehicle occupants killed in motor vehicle crashes were not wearing a restraint. 

Throwback Thursday: A snow-saturated Flagstaff

Throwback Thursday: A snow-saturated Flagstaff

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Throwback Thursday: A snow-saturated Flagstaff

Throwback Thursday: A snow-saturated Flagstaff

By John LaBarbera / ADOT Communications
July 15, 2021

Today, in the midst of triple-digit temperatures throughout the state, we throwback to a frosty winter’s scene in 1967 Flagstaff, showing what is today Interstate 17 meeting Interstate 40. 

Of course, at the time, the road that would become I-17 was still known as State Route 79. It officially upgraded to interstate status in 1971. And I-40 would not be formally christened in Flagstaff until 1968, a year after this photo was snapped. The entire stretch across the state would be completed in 1984.

Immediately, our eyes are drawn to the snow-capped San Francisco Peaks, rising majestically over the City of Seven Wonders to a maximal apex of more than 12,600 feet.

And just below the peak, on the right side of the frame, we see the streets of downtown Flagstaff to the north, and an evergreen-shrouded Northern Arizona University immediately to its south. Not pictured: The Walkup Skydome, which wouldn’t break ground for another eight years, opening in 1977.

Nestled in the hills just west of downtown, is Lowell Observatory. At the time this photo was captured, Lowell was playing an integral role in the Apollo moon landing mission. The once-but-sadly-no-longer-a-planet Pluto was discovered there in 1930. Lowell Observatory sits atop Mars Hill… perhaps a glimpse into future discoveries.

Today, there are fewer trees and more shopping centers in the area immediately surrounding Milton Road, the street I-17 becomes after crossing I-40. But there are still plenty of ponderosa pines that peek down on visitors.

Currently, we have two ongoing I-40 projects in the Flagstaff area, and even more the further away we go. Meanwhile, I-17 has a slew of projects on deck in our Tentative Five-Year Construction Program.

So, while it continues to heat up in the Copper State this summer, we can lose ourselves in this refreshing glimpse of a time much cooler.

Throwback Thursday: What a tangled web we weave

Throwback Thursday: What a tangled web we weave

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Throwback Thursday: What a tangled web we weave

Throwback Thursday: What a tangled web we weave

By David Rookhuyzen / ADOT Communications
May 20, 2021

We're a pretty diverse lot here at ADOT, but collectively as an agency we do love bridges and great photography. And a little bit of 1950s B-movies, which is maybe why we glommed on to this particular shot.

As you probably sussed at a glance that's the Hoover Dam in the background, demarcating the state line between Arizona and Nevada. But up there above it looks like the handiwork of the largest spider ever, with long strands branching out from anchor points to support the bottom of a magnificent arch. We almost have the screenplay written in our heads: A spider is mutated from (insert your favorite reason here), grows to monsterous proportions and terrorizes Las Vegas. The climax will be a battle at the spider's lair spanning the Colorado River. The movie poster's tagline will be "To IT, we are all bugs!" 

Okay, so those are just silly flights of fancy. In reality this is obviously part-way through construction of the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which created a bypass so US 93 traffic no longer had to go over the dam. Construction of the actual bridge (which is 900 feet above the river!) ran between 2005 and 2010, and when completed was the highest and longest arch concrete bridge in the Western hemisphere. 

Another fun fact – due to how hot it gets in that particular spot, concrete had to be poured from mid-air at night and then cooled with tubes full of liquid nitrogen. That also potentially explains why we were able to capture this shot of crews working on the bridge this particular night. 

Just something to think about the next time you drive to or from Las Vegas. 

Now, if you'll excuse us, we are going to pitch our monster movie idea to Hollywood.

Throwback Thursday: Superstition sparkle

Throwback Thursday: Superstition sparkle

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Throwback Thursday: Superstition sparkle

Throwback Thursday: Superstition sparkle

By John LaBarbera / ADOT Communications
April 29, 2021

Nothing dazzles quite like an old black-and-white film photograph. Especially one taken at night, surrounded by street lights that are positively celestial.

Right off the bat, the exit signs down the road in this picture tell us we’re looking westbound on the Superstition Freeway, just east of McClintock Drive. Today, this familiar stretch is signed as US Route 60. However, from 1970 to 1992, it was designated State Route 360.

At the time, US 60 followed a “through-town route” along Main Street/Apache Trail about two miles to the north.

State Route 360 has the distinct honor of being the first Valley freeway that wasn’t an interstate highway. It was also the only Phoenix-area freeway being constructed during the entire 1970s.

Here’s another fun note: If you look closely, you may notice the exit numbers are in the single digits. These days, the exits are numbered according to US 60’s corresponding mileposts (173 for Mill, 174 for Rural).

Now, when exactly this photograph was taken is a bit tricky to nail down. For one, this photograph was found undated in our archives. 

The earliest we can posit for this monochrome marvel is around 1975. That’s the year the freeway opened from Mill Ave to Price Road, the future Loop 101 Price Freeway.

The Superstition Freeway would open a few miles every few years until 1991, when it was completed in Apache Junction.

But since we’re not going anywhere right now, let’s just sit back, relax and watch the lights as they twinkle on in the night sky.