State Route 78 (Arizona–New Mexico)

State Route 78 marker State Road 78 marker

Arizona and New Mexico Route 78

Route 78 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by ADOT & NMDOT
Length: 34.68 mi (55.81 km)
19.47 mi (31.33 km) in Arizona[1]
15.213 mi (24.483 km) in New Mexico[2]
Existed: 1938-1959 – present
Major junctions
West end: US 191 / SR 75 in Three Way, AZ
East end: US 180 near Cliff, NM
Highway system
  • State Routes in Arizona
← SR 77AZSR 79 →
← NM 77NMNM 80 →

Arizona State Route 78 and New Mexico State Road 78 (SR 78) are a pair of adjoining state highways located in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico linking U.S. Route 191 (US 191) and Arizona State Route 75 near Greenlee County Airport to US 180 northwest of Cliff, New Mexico. It is also known in its Arizona stretch as Mule Creek Road.

Route description

The western terminus of SR 78 is located at a junction with US 191 and SR 75 at Three Way, Arizona near Greenlee County Airport. The highway heads northeast from this intersection along Mule Creek Road. There are a few hairpin turns along this stretch of highway as it follows the surrounding terrain.[1][3] State Road 78 heads eastward through desert, passing through the community of Mule Creek, New Mexico. The road continues eastward until terminating at U.S. Route 180 northwest of Cliff, New Mexico.[4]

History

The highway in Arizona was designated as SR 78 in 1959, but the road had existed prior to it being designated.[5] The road was shown on maps as far back as 1927. Its counterpart in New Mexico was already marked as New Mexico State Road 78 by this time.[6] By 1938, it was still just a gravel road as were many roads in the area including US 666.[7] It would remain a gravel road in 1961, even after becoming a state highway. The other state highways in the area were paved by this time including the majority of its counterpart in New Mexico.[8] By 1971, nearly the entire highway had been paved with the exception of a portion near the New Mexico border.[9]

SR 78 in New Mexico was designated along its current route in the mid-1930s. It was extended to U.S. Route 60 via Mogollon by the mid-1940s and truncated to its present alignment in 1988.[10]

Junction list

StateCountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
ArizonaGreenleeThree Way0.000.00 US 191 / SR 75 south – Clifton, Safford
 Arizona–New Mexico state line
New MexicoGrant 34.6855.81 US 180
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Arizona Department of Transportation. "2006 ADOT Highway Log" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-04-09.
  2. ↑ New Mexico Department of Transportation. "New Mexico Department of Transportation State Road Log" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  3. ↑ Google (2008-04-23). "overview map of SR 78" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  4. ↑ Google (2010-12-08). "Overview map of State Road 78" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  5. ↑ Arizona Department of Transportation. "ADOT Right-of-Way Resolution 1959-079". Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  6. ↑ Auto Road Map of Arizona and New Mexico (Map). Rand McNally. 1927. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  7. ↑ Road Map of Arizona and New Mexico (Map). Rand McNally. 1938. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  8. ↑ Road Map of Arizona (Map). Rand McNally. 1961. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  9. ↑ Road Map of Arizona (Map). Arizona State Highway Department. 1971. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  10. ↑ Rimer, Steve. "New Mexico Highways 76-100". The Unofficial New Mexico Highways Page. Retrieved 8 December 2010.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 14, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.