.svg) U.S. Route 80 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean-to-Ocean Highway The Broadway of America Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway | ||||
 1951 alignment of US 80 highlighted in red US 80 Alt. highlighted in blue | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by ASHD | ||||
| Length | 497.80 mi[1][2] (801.13 km) Mileage reflects US 80 as it was in 1951. | |||
| Existed | November 11, 1926–October 6, 1989 | |||
| History | Western terminus at I-10 in Benson after 1977 | |||
| Tourist routes |  Historic U.S. Route 80 | |||
| Major intersections (in 1951) | ||||
| West end |  US 80 in Yuma | |||
| East end | US 80 at the New Mexico state line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Arizona | |||
| Counties | Yuma, Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, Cochise | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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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 500 miles (800 km) 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.
- ^ Shell Oil Company; H.M. Gousha Company (1951). Shell Highway Map of Arizona and New Mexico (Map). 1:1,774,080. Chicago: Shell Oil Company. Retrieved April 1, 2015 – via David Rumsey Map Collection.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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