U.S. Route 70 in Arizona

U.S. Route 180 (US 180) was the original U.S. Highway designation between Globe and the New Mexico state border near Virden. Being one of the original U.S. Highways established in 1926, it was the first child route of US 80 to be designated.[5] The route was originally designated in 1909 when the Arizona Territorial Legislature established a territorial road system under the management of the Territorial Engineer. The Yuma–Duncan Territorial Road ran between Yuma in the west and the New Mexico territorial line near Duncan. Despite being a territorial designated road, improvements to the two existing territorial roads was slow due to low funding. No improvements were made to the Yuma–Duncan Road between 1909 and 1912, with all funding going towards the Grand Canyon–Duncan Territorial Road between the Grand Canyon area and Douglas. In 1912, Arizona Territory was granted statehood, which changed the organization of the Territorial Road System into the new State Highway System.[4] The Yuma–Duncan route became part of the transcontinental Southern National Highway auto trail in 1913. In 1914, Arizona's highway system was further reorganized into a better-funded and organized network of early state highways. The Yuma–Duncan route between Globe and New Mexico was added to the newly designated Roosevelt Dam Highway. The rest of the new route ran from Mesa to Globe via the Apache Trail (now SR 88).[6]

In 1919, the Roosevelt Dam Highway became a northern branch of the Lee Highway auto trail. Due to the popularity of the Lee Highway, the state-designated Roosevelt Dam name became largely forgotten by the traveling public. Between 1917 and 1921, the route from Solomonsville to Geronimo was paved. It along with the Borderland Highway between Bisbee and Douglas became the first two paved state highways in Arizona. With a second reorganization of the state highway system in 1921 due in part to newly available federal funding, the eastern section of the Roosevelt Dam Highway was redesignated by the state to become part the Phoenix–Globe–Rice Highway and the entirety of the Rice–Safford–Duncan Highway. By this point, a previously existing more direct route between San Jose and Duncan had been added as a branch of the Rice–Safford–Duncan Highway. In 1924, funding allocated by Federal Aid Project No. 15 allowed the state to improve the conditions of the Phoenix–Globe–Rice Highway between Globe and Geronimo.[6] Both the Phoenix–Globe–Rice Highway and Rice–Safford–Duncan Highway were designated as the new US 180 on November 11, 1926.[5] With the establishment of Arizona's own highway numbering system on September 9, 1927, the US 180 designation was officially recognized by the State Highway Department and the earlier state designations were dropped.[6]

A postcard of US 70 (originally US 180) going across the top of Coolidge Dam.

At first, US 180 was a mostly unpaved highway, save for the aforementioned section between Geronimo and Solomonsville. The entire route was at least graded with most of it being of an improved surface other than true pavement. A new section of US 180 was also under construction to bypass the route between Cutter and Rice (now San Carlos). The new route would go over the Coolidge Dam around the new San Carlos reservoir.[9] Construction of the dam itself was approved by the United States Congress on June 7, 1924. The purpose of the dam was to help solve water issues plaguing the Apache people living within the San Carlos Indian Reservation. Heavy irrigation of the Gila River for farming upstream had greatly decreased the amount of water available in the river to the Apache Nation. Construction of the Coolidge Dam was started in January 1927 and completed in October 1928. Water retaining began on November 15, 1928 and was placed under management of the San Carlos Project, a division of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).[10]

Historical US 70 route markers

1926 design

1956 design (Eastbound)

1956 design (Westbound)

1960 design (Eastbound)

1960 design (Westbound)

1963 design

1971 design (used after 1991)

At first, construction of the dam faced massive opposition from the Apache Nation as a tribal burial ground was within the area of the proposed reservoir. Exhumation of any human remains was out of the question, as the Apache people considered it desecration. The BIA therefore constructed a concrete slab over the burial ground allowing the BIA and Apache Nation to reach a compromise.[11] By 1929, US 180 had been re-routed onto the new alignment over the Coolidge Dam. The section of former US 180 between Rice and a point northwest of Geronimo was abandoned from the state highway system. SR 73, which had previously ended at US 180 in Rice, was extended west over former US 180 to end at the new highway in Cutter.[12] Due to limited state funding, the new alignment wasn't paved, but was instead oiled down to provide some stability and rigidity. Approximately 23.5 miles (37.8 kilometres) was oiled between Globe and Safford at a cost of $88,904. A large amount of the oiling and construction cost was reimbursed by the federal government.[13]

US 180 was paved from Globe to the Pinal County line near the Coolidge Dam by 1930. Besides the already paved segment of highway near Safford, the rest of the highway was surfaced with a lesser improved material, save for a section between Duncan and the New Mexico border, which wasn't surfaced, but was at least graded.[14] Several sections of US 180 were graded and improved with oil surfacing in 1931 under five separate labor projects in both Gila County and Graham County. Most of this work was done between the Coolidge Dam area and Geronimo, costing over $100,000. The total amount of road reconstructed was at least 15 miles (24 kilometres) in length.[15] Later in 1931, US 180 was fully paved between the Gila–Pinal County line to Calva to an area west of Geronimo. When US 60 was extended west to California through Arizona the same year, both highways shared a concurrency between Globe and the US 180's western terminus in Florence Junction.[16] Since US 60 wasn't completed between Globe and Springerville yet, US 180 was concurrent with US 60T (the temporary route of US 60) between Globe and Cutter. US 60T then followed SR 73 northeast from Cutter to Springerville.[8] Paving from Solomonville to the New Mexico state line was completed in 1932.[17] By November 20, 1932, over 183 miles (295 kilometres) of US 180 was surfaced with either pavement or an oiled surface.[18] By 1934, the entirety of US 180 between Globe and New Mexico was now paved. New Mexico had also paved part of its section of US 180 between the Arizona Border and Lordsburg.[19] In October 1934, two bridges were widened on US 180 near Solomonville and two new bridges on the highway were also constructed.[20]

US 70 was originally designated in Arizona on November 11, 1926. The route started at US 66 in Holbrook, and ran south to Concho, then east to St. Johns, where the highway turned south again to Springerville, then due east into New Mexico to Clovis, and eventually, its eastern terminus in Beaufort, North Carolina.[5] Prior to 1926, the Arizona portion of US 70 had been a section of Beale's Wagon Road and the National Old Trails Road.[6] On June 8, 1931, US 70 between Holbrook and Clovis was replaced by US 60 and a newly designated US 260.[17][21] US 70 was given a new routing between Clovis and El Paso, Texas via Alamogordo, New Mexico.[22] US 70 continued to end in El Paso until June 17, 1935, when the highway was re-routed over US 180, retiring the latter route.[4][23][24] Nationally, US 70 was re-routed west of Hondo, New Mexico through Carrizozo, San Marcial and Hot Springs to Caballo, New Mexico. From there, US 70 replaced all of US 180 between Caballo, New Mexico and Florence Junction, Arizona. US 70 also ran entirely concurrent with US 60 from Globe into California to a junction with US 99 near Mecca, California. The old route to El Paso became part of US 54. This not only moved the western terminus of US 70 from El Paso to California, but also reintroduced US 70 to the state of Arizona after 4 years of absence.[25] In later years, US 180 would also be re-introduced to Arizona, coincidentally taking over the former route of US 70 between Holbrook and New Mexico.[7]

Some adjustments were made to the new routing of US 70 between 1935 and 1936, moving the highway between Hondo and Lordsburg in New Mexico further south through Alamogordo, Las Cruces and Deming.[26] US 70 in California was also extended west over US 60 and US 99 to downtown Los Angeles.[27] This meant that both US 60 and US 70 were now entirely concurrent each other west of Globe, Arizona to a shared western terminus.[27][28] Despite the route being changed through New Mexico and California, US 70 remained mostly unaltered through Arizona until the mid 1950s.[29] In 1936, the overall length of US 70 in Arizona was 396 miles (637 kilometres), including both the standalone section between Globe and New Mexico and the section entirely concurrent with US 60 between Globe and the Colorado River in Ehrenberg. The Arizona Republic newspaper advertised US 70 as the shortest route across southern Arizona, claiming it was at least 100 miles (160 kilometres) shorter than any other highway crossing the state of Arizona laterally.[30] On June 21, 1937, SR 77 was extended south to Oracle Junction, establishing a short concurrency with US 70 between Globe and an intersection just west of Cutter.[31] In 1939, US 666 was extended south to Douglas from New Mexico, establishing a concurrency with US 70 between Safford and San Jose.[32]

Following the end of World War II in Europe, the Arizona State Highway Department released its postwar highway improvement and construction plans to the press on May 26, 1945. Among the many proposed improvement projects was construction of a new alignment of US 70 between Cutter and Safford, Arizona. The new route was proposed to run around the north side of the San Carlos Reservoir and bypass the Coolidge Dam.[33] On May 29, 1950, the Highway Department initially budgeted $550,000 to begin the new construction project.[34] The allocated funds would go towards building the first segment of the Coolidge Dam bypass from Cutter to Peridot.[35] By December 1951, the new route from Cutter to Peridot was under construction by a private contractor from Globe. The Cutter to Peridot project along with the remaining proposed route was estimated to cost a total of $6 Million when complete and would eliminate 11 miles off the length of US 70.[36]

Construction on the section from Cutter to Peridot was nearing completion in April 1953 with a bridge over Gilson Wash on the route being the last segment under construction.[37] By late 1953, the section between Cutter and Peridot was completed but unpaved. The route was also not yet signed as a state highway. The remainder of the highway between Peridot and Geronimo was now under construction.[38] Construction and improvement on the new route was still undergoing by February 1956, with the bridge over the Gila River and paving of the new route scheduled to be completed by late May.[39] By December 5, 1956, the new section of US 70 had been opened to traffic and the designation re-routed to the newer alignment. The original route over the Coolidge Dam was subsequently abandoned by the State Highway Department.[40] Although the older route is in very rough shape, former US 70 over the Coolidge Dam remains open to car traffic and is now maintained by the BIA as BIA Route 3.[2] The new route was dedicated in an opening ceremony on December 8.[41]

During the 1960s, the days of US 70 being a full transcontinental highway came to an end. During the 1964 California State Highway Renumbering, the US 70 designation eliminated entirely from the state of California, placing the national western terminus of the highway at the Arizona border on the Colorado River in Ehrenberg.[42] On February 13, 1969, US 70 was further truncated to US 60 in Globe, where its western terminus remains to this day.[43] Today, former US 70 between Ehrenberg and Globe is now part of Interstate 10, US 60 and several city and county maintained roads. The remaining section of US 70 has remained mostly unchanged since 1956. Despite its truncation, US 70 remains an important artery between Globe and Safford for the San Carlos Indian Reservation, providing the reservation with an adequate connection to the rest of the state. It also continues to serve as both the main street and through route for the towns of Duncan and Safford.[2] Today, US 70 between the New Mexico state line and US 60 in Globe is designated as part of the Old West Highway, a tourist route established by the Old West History Association in 1994. The Old West Highway designation also extends west from Globe along US 60 to Apache Junction, and east along US 70, across the state line, to Lordsburg.[44]