U.S. Route 80 (US 80), also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, the Broadway of America and the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway, was a major transcontinental highway that existed in the U.S. state of Arizona from November 11, 1926, to October 6, 1989. At its peak, US 80 traveled from the California border in Yuma to the New Mexico state line near Lordsburg. US 80 was an important highway in the development of Arizona's car culture. Like its northern counterpart, US 66, the popularity of travel along US 80 helped lead to the establishment of many unique roadside businesses and attractions, including many iconic motor hotels and restaurants. US 80 was a particularly long highway, reaching a length of almost within the state of Arizona alone for most of the route's existence.
Along with US 66, US 80 was one of the first U.S. Highways to span Arizona. Where US 66 served northern Arizona, US 80 acted the main interstate highway for the southern half of the state, serving the major cities of Phoenix and Tucson, along with other small towns and cities. The condition of the highway was modernized and improved during the Great Depression, largely through manual labor and funding provided by the Works Progress Administration, which included the grade separation of railroad crossings and paving of the highway. Tourism and traffic along US 80 greatly increased following the end of World War II, creating a temporary economic boom for businesses along the highway. Several areas of the highway were also bypassed or straightened during this time to help alleviate the increasing traffic.
Due to the creation of the Interstate Highway System in 1956, both Interstate 10 and Interstate 8 gradually replaced US 80 as a major highway. Many towns and communities along the highway fell into an economic decline after Interstate bypasses caused a decrease in tourism and patronage. Since US 80 was largely concurrent or bypassed by Interstate Highways across Arizona, the older U.S. Highway was seen as a redundant designation. The US 80 designation was removed from Arizona between 1977 and 1989. The remaining stand-alone sections of US 80 in Arizona, not concurrent with other highways, were re-designated as State Route 80, a northern extension of SR 85 and various Interstate business loops. In September 2018, the Arizona Department of Transportation designated many surviving segments of the former highway as Historic U.S. Route 80, making it the fourth state-recognized historic route in Arizona's history.
Route description Within the state of Arizona, US 80 made two indirect loops to both Phoenix and Douglas. Both loops were often bypassed by travelers, using the more direct routes of SR 84 and SR 86 respectively to decrease travel time between California and New Mexico. The odd shape created by the two "loops" gave US 80 a long length through the state of Arizona, which was around in total. In 1935, US 80 was long. By 1951, the total length had reduced to about , shrinking further to in 1956 with the bypass of Arlington and the Gillespie Dam. The following route description roughly describes the path of US 80 as it would have been in 1951.
Yuma to Phoenix
North of the 1914 Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge, the state border between California and Arizona briefly exits the Colorado River and makes its way through the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation, placing several acres of land on the California side of the river in Yuma County, Arizona. It is at this land border that US 80 entered Arizona on present-day Quechan Road in front of a now-abandoned Agricultural Inspection Station. The highway turned to head south across the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge, entering Yuma on Penitentiary Avenue. Penitentiary curves west at the remains of Yuma Territorial Prison, becoming 1st Street, passing the downtown district of Yuma. The historic Hotel San Carlos, now an apartment building, is located at the curve where Penitentiary becomes 1st.
A few blocks west at 4th Avenue, US 80 had its first major highway junction in Arizona with State Route 95, which came in from the west on 1st Street. Both US 80 and SR 95 turned south joining the route of present-day I-8 Business, sharing a wrong-way concurrency. At 16th Street, SR 95 split off and headed east towards Quartzsite. Today, 16th Street carries US 95, the successor to SR 95. At 32nd Street, US 80 curved east, skirting the north end of Yuma International Airport. Past Avenue 8½ East, I-8 takes over the route of US 80, save for a small area near Exit 14, where US 80 followed the South Frontage Road for less than a mile. US 80 mostly followed the route taken by the I-8 westbound lanes over Telegraph Pass, before splitting off onto East Highway 80 through Ligurta. The highway then used an underpass to clear the Southern Pacific Railroad mainline (now part of the Union Pacific Railroad), paralleling the tracks east into Wellton and becoming Los Angeles Avenue through town.
Between Yuma and Phoenix, US 80 paralleled the Gila River. East of Wellton, US 80 continued to parallel the Southern Pacific into Mohawk Pass, where it once again took on the route of I-8, then continued straight ahead onto Old Highway 80 into the town of Dateland, iconic for its large date palm orchard. The highway continued east from Dateland on what is now the south frontage road of I-8. Around Tenmile Wash was where the small highway and railroad town of Aztec once stood. Today, all that remains of Aztec is an isolated water tower between old US 80 and the tracks. Past Aztec, US 80 used the eastbound lanes of I-8 crossing the Maricopa County line before heading through Sentinel. Sentinel was a common stop for highway travelers using US 80, being home to a gas station. Today, a different gas station at Sentinel serves I-8 travelers.
US 80 then continued onto the south frontage road from Piedra through Theba and Smurr before finally reaching Gila Bend, becoming Pima Street. Today Pima Street acts as both I-8 Business and SR 85. The intersection of Martin Avenue and Pima Street served as the northern terminus of SR 85, which itself has since replaced US 80 to Phoenix. Gila Bend is home to the iconic 1961 vintage Space Age Lodge, a motel with an outer space theme sporting a fake alien spaceship on its roof. The oldest remaining building in Gila Bend, the former Stout Hotel, is also located on former US 80 in town. US 80 turned north towards Phoenix, leaving Pima Street at Old Highway 80. The rest of the I-8 Business loop east of this point was formerly SR 84 to Casa Grande. The old highway parallels the Gila Bend Canal through Cotton Center and crossed over an old concrete bridge (now destroyed with only one span left standing) then curved northwest, arriving at the eastern bank of the Gila River near the ruins of the Gillespie Dam.
US 80 crossed the 1927 Gillespie Dam Bridge over the Gila River, where it immediately turned north on the other side of the river. After heading north a short distance, the highway turned northeast near Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station and passed through Arlington. East of Arlington, US 80 then before turned east, crossing over the Hassayampa River into the town of Hassayampa. At Wilson Road, US 80 turned north, then east onto Hazen Road. At SR 85, the highway traveled north to the next major intersection with MC 85, then curved east into the town of Buckeye as Monroe Avenue. Buckeye marks the western end of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Heading east from Buckeye, US 80 used both MC 85 and Buckeye Road, through the Phoenix suburbs of Goodyear and Avondale. East of Avondale and present-day Loop 202, US 80 entered Phoenix proper. At 17th Avenue, US 80 left Buckeye Road, heading north past the Arizona State Capitol to Van Buren Street. At Van Buren St., the highway headed east again to an intersection with 7th Avenue and Grand Avenue, where it met US 60, US 70 and US 89. East of Grand Ave., US 80 shared a long concurrency with the other three U.S. Highways through the eastern half of the Phoenix area.
Phoenix to Tucson
Passing through downtown Phoenix on Van Buren Street, US 60/US 70/US 80/US 89 turned southeast where the Phoenix Zoo is today, arriving at an interchange with Washington Street (now Center Parkway). Washington Street was an unsigned bannered route of US 80 known as US 80 Alternate. South of the intersection, the highways used the 1931 Mill Avenue Bridge to cross the Salt River into downtown Tempe. At 13th Street, the four highways curved east, passing the Arizona State University main campus onto Apache Boulevard. Apache Boulevard becomes Main Street through downtown Mesa. This was where the quartet of U.S. Highways met SR 87. In 1951, the junction with Main Street and SR 87 was the northern terminus of the latter highway.
US 60/US 70/US 80/US 89 continued east across the Pinal County line onto the beginning of the Apache Trail into Apache Junction. Apache Trail split from the old highway, becoming SR 88 as it headed to Tortilla Flat. From the junction with SR 88, US 60/US 70/US 80/US 89 angled southeast down Old West Highway and continued straight from Goldfield Road, becoming present day US 60. The highways continued down the modern US 60 past present day Gold Canyon to Florence Junction. US 60/US 70/US 80/US 89 diverged from present day US 60 north of the current diamond interchange with SR 79 (Exit 212), taking El Camino Viejo east to an at-grade intersection with SR 79. At this intersection, US 60 and US 70 diverged from US 80 and US 89. Running concurrently, US 60 and US 70 continued east on El Camino Viejo and present-day US 60 towards Superior and Globe. US 80 and US 89 took SR 79 south, crossing the Gila River a second time, into Florence.
In Florence, US 80 and US 89 split from SR 79 at the state prison, going west on Ruggles Street, then south on Main Street through downtown. The junction with Main Street (SR 79 Business) and SR 287 on the south side of town served as the eastern terminus of SR 287 in 1951. From here, US 80 and US 89 went southeast on SR 79 Business, returning to SR 79. Just south of Florence on the side of the highway is a roadside memorial to cowboy western actor Tom Mix. It was not far from this position in 1940 that Mix was killed when his car slid off US 80/US 89 into a small wash. US 80/US 89 continued south to Arizona at the southern terminus of SR 77.
US 80/US 89 continued south on current SR 77 across the Pima County line where the highway becomes Oracle Road. Both highways passed through the town of Oro Valley on the western side of the Santa Catalina Mountains before crossing the El Rillito river into Tucson. Where SR 77 turns west onto Miracle Mile was where US 80 and US 89 met SR 84. This intersection was formerly a large traffic circle. South of this point, Oracle Road was once part of Tucson's Miracle Mile District, a former bustling business district lined with historic motels and iconic structures. US 80, US 89 and SR 84 continued south on Oracle Road, then east at another large traffic circle on to Drachman Street through the Miracle Mile District, passing the iconic Tucson Inn before reaching the end of the Miracle Mile at Stone Avenue.