Arizona State Route 77

State Route 77 marker

State Route 77
Route information
Maintained by ADOT
Length: 253.93 mi[1] (408.66 km)
Existed: 1941 – present
Major junctions
South end: I-10 in Tucson
  US 70 in Globe
US 60 in Globe-Show Low
US 180 in Holbrook
I-40 in Holbrook
North end: BIA Route 6 at Navajo Indian Reservation
Highway system
  • State Routes in Arizona
← SR 75SR 78 →
← SR 8484ASR 85 →

State Route 77 (or SR 77) is a state highway in Arizona that traverses much of the state's length, stretching from its northern terminus at the boundary of the Navajo Nation north of Holbrook to its junction with I-10 in Tucson.

Route description

At its southern terminus, north of Tucson, the road is known as Oracle Road[2] until the final mile and a half when the road turns westward directly toward Interstate 10 and is called Miracle Mile Road,[2] named such in 1962.[3]

Route 77 traveling through Salt River Canyon
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arizona State Route 77.

Past the Navajo Nation boundary, SR 77 becomes BIA Route 6 northbound towards Keams Canyon. Between Show Low and Globe, this highway is concurrent with U.S. Route 60. Its southernmost reaches were formerly part of U.S. Route 80 and U.S. Route 89, except for its terminal segment, the Miracle Mile segment of old Business 10 and State Route 84A.

Origin of the name of Tucson's Miracle Mile

Although it was thought for several years that, Tucson's Miracle Mile derived its name from a June 1937 Arizona Highways magazine, historian David Leighton challenged this theory, in a February 23, 2015, article in the Arizona Daily Star newspaper. He explained that in 1936, real estate developer Stanley Williamson conceived the idea of creating a commercial center outside of the over-congested downtown retail district, in Tucson. His model for this business center was the Miracle Mile in Los Angeles, Calif. The one in L.A., was the idea of real estate agent A.W. Ross, who saw that the retail district in that city was overcrowded and, also saw that cars were becoming more common. He came up with the idea of buying farming land, along Wilshire Blvd., several miles out from downtown, with the belief that as more people bought automobiles they would be willing to drive farther, in order to avoid the lack of parking and congestion in the downtown area. While initially no one thought his idea would work, in time store after store came to his business center. The Miracle Mile eventually became one of Los Angeles' premier shopping districts. Ross originally called his business area, the Wilshire Boulveard Center, it was changed to the Miracle Mile in 1928.

Junction list

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
PimaTucson I-10 – Phoenix, El Paso
Pinal  SR 79 north – Florence, Phoenix
GilaWinkelman SR 177 north – Superior
Globe US 70 east – SaffordSouth end of US 70 overlap
US 60 west / US 70 west – Globe, PhoenixSouth end of US 60 overlap; north end of US 70 overlap
Navajo  SR 73 east
Show Low SR 260 west – HeberSouth end of SR 260 overlap
SR 260 east – Pinetop-LakesideNorth end of SR 260 overlap
US 60 east – SpringervilleNorth end of US 60 overlap
Snowflake SR 277 west – Heber
  SR 377 south – Heber
Holbrook US 180 east – St. JohnsSouth end of US 180 overlap
US 180 west to I-40 – FlagstaffNorth end of US 180 overlap
I-40 west – FlagstaffSouth end of I-40 overlap
  I-40 east – AlbuquerqueNorth end of I-40 overlap
Navajo NationBIA Route 6
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Arizona Department of Transportation. "2008 ADOT Highway Log" (PDF). Retrieved April 9, 2008.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tucson @ AARoads.com
  3. ↑ Devine, Dave (October 9–15, 1997). "Motel Memories". Tucson Weekly (Tucson).