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Arizona State Route 87

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State Route 87 marker
State Route 87
Map
SR 87 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by ADOT, City of Chandler, City of Mesa
Length272.66 mi[1] (438.80 km)
Existed1927–present
Major junctions
South end I-10 near Picacho
Major intersections
North end SR 264 near Second Mesa
Location
CountryUnited States
StateArizona
CountiesPinal, Maricopa, Gila, Coconino, Navajo
Highway system
  • Arizona State Highway System
← SR 86→ SR 88

State Route 87 (SR 87) is a 272.66-mile (438.80 km) north–south highway that travels from I-10 near Picacho northward to State Route 264 near Second Mesa.

Route description

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SR 87 begins 0.95 miles (1.53 km) to the north of I-10 at a junction with an unsigned orphan segment of SR 84, which serves as a direct connection to I-10 at Exit 211.[1] SR 87 travels north for 16 miles (26 km) toward Coolidge, passing by the town of Eloy. In Coolidge, State Route 87 is known as Arizona Boulevard.

The highway leaves Coolidge heading northwest and travels as a two-lane rural road through the Gila River Indian Community, until it reaches a junction with SR 587 on the border between the Gila River Indian Community and Chandler. North of this junction, SR 87 travels along Arizona Avenue in Chandler, intersecting Loop 202 before entering Mesa and becoming Country Club Drive. The highway then intersects with U.S. 60 and SR 202 for a second time, before leaving Mesa as the Beeline Highway. The Mesa and Chandler sections of SR 87 are discontinuous, with most of these sections between McKellips Road in Mesa and Cloud Road in Chandler being owned and maintained by their respective cities. A 1.5-mile (2.4 km) ADOT-owned segment north of the Western Canal and south of Baseline Road forms the city limits separating Mesa from Chandler, and also the city limits separating Gilbert from Mesa. The only major portions where SR 87 technically exists wholly inside Mesa city limits (under ADOT ownership) is the area surrounding US 60 and then a short length south of the Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway north of McKellips Rd.

SR 87 is known as the Beeline Highway from McDowell Road, just north of Mesa, passing by Fountain Hills and to Payson. This portion of SR 87 is entirely a four-lane highway. There is a stretch of road where the highway splits, taking different canyons through the Mazatzal Mountains south of Payson, near the junction with SR 188. The old alignment is currently the southbound lanes, while a new alignment was built for the northbound lanes. There is a stretch where the roads cross-over each other because of the difference in elevations of the two canyons.

SR 87 is part of the National Highway System between I-10 and Payson. ADOT is currently studying a stretch of I-10 to widen and improve interchanges along its stretch from Tucson to Casa Grande, including the interchange with SR 87.[2]

History

[edit]
State Route 65 marker
State Route 65
LocationStrawberry Junction to Second Mesa
Existed1936–1967

SR 87 was designated in 1924 from Casa Grande to Mesa. In 1927, it was rerouted to end in Eloy, and the old route was renumbered AZ 187. In 1959, it extended to Strawberry Junction. In 1967, it extended north over State Route 65 to its current terminus. By 1983, almost half of the Beeline Highway, between Mesa and Payson, had already been widened to either three or four lanes; in 1989, work began to convert the entire highway to four lanes, and was completed in 2001.[3]

Notable destinations along SR 87 include the Mogollon Rim and Tonto Natural Bridge.

In the 1930s Harvey Bush championed a highway from Mesa to Payson, crossing the Mazatzal Mountains, which became known as the Bush Highway. In the 1950s a cutoff was built between Mesa and the Saguaro Lake turnoff, bypassing a slow section of the Bush Highway and shortening the trip by 15 minutes. This cutoff was dubbed the Beeline Highway, and the name gradually came to apply to the entire route.[4][5]

[edit]
  • Driving south on AZ 87, from Winslow to Strawberry.
    Driving south on AZ 87, from Winslow to Strawberry.
  • The Picacho post office, near the present southern terminus of AZ 87.
    The Picacho post office, near the present southern terminus of AZ 87.

Major intersections

[edit]
CountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
PinalPicacho114.82184.78 I-10 – Phoenix, TucsonADOT signs this as southern terminus; I-10 exit 211
PicachoClosed interchange; was southbound exit only
Eastern terminus of unsigned SR 84 segment
115.77186.31SR 84 west (Casa Grande-Picacho Highway west)South end state maintenance of SR 87; western end of unsigned SR 84 concurrency; Casa Grande-Picacho Hwy. is former SR 93
​125.92202.65
 SR 287 west – Casa Grande		South end of SR 287 concurrency
Coolidge134.75216.86
 SR 287 east – Florence		North end of SR 287 concurrency
​141.48227.69

 SR 387 west to I-10
​146.06235.06

 SR 187 south to I-10 – Casa Grande
Pinal–Maricopa
county line		​159.70257.01

 SR 587 south to I-10		Former SR 93
MaricopaChandler161.18259.39Cloud RoadNorth end state maintenance
N/A Loop 202 (SanTan Freeway)Loop 202 exit 47
Chandler–Mesa line170.20273.91Bridge over Western Canal
South end state maintenance
Gilbert–Mesa line171.75276.40Baseline RoadNorth end state maintenance
Mesa172.33277.34Iron AvenueSouth end state maintenance
172.45277.53 US 60 (Superstition Freeway) – Globe, PhoenixFormer SR 360; US 60 exit 179
172.57277.72Holmes AvenueNorth end state maintenance
N/ABroadway RoadPartial interchange; access via northbound exit ramp and connector road
Main Street (Historic US 80)Former US 60 / US 70 / US 80 / US 89; former SR 93 north
176.74284.44McKellips RoadSouth end state maintenance
176.99–
177.01		284.84–
284.87		 Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway)Loop 202 exit 13
​199.15320.50199Bush HighwayInterchange
Gila​235.69379.31
 SR 188 south – Roosevelt, Globe
Payson252.58406.49
 SR 260 east – Heber, Show Low, Holbrook		South end of SR 260 concurrency
Coconino​278.51448.22
 SR 260 west – Cottonwood, Camp Verde		North end of SR 260 concurrency
​290.45467.43
 CR 3 north (Lake Mary Road) – Happy Jack, Flagstaff
Navajo​340.94548.69
 SR 99 south		South end of SR 99 concurrency
Winslow342.16550.65 SR 99 (2nd Street)One-way street; inbound access only

 SR 99 north (3rd Street west) – Flagstaff		One-way street; outbound access only; north end of SR 99 concurrency; no northbound access
345.76556.45 I-40 (US 180) – Flagstaff, AlbuquerqueI-40 exit 257
Second Mesa406.04653.46 SR 264 – Tuba City, Keams CanyonNorthern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Closed/former
  •       Concurrency terminus

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Arizona Department of Transportation. "2013 ADOT Highway Log" (PDF). Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  2. ^ Arizona Department of Transportation Interstate 10 Corridor Study: Jct. I-8 to Tangerine Road Archived July 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. ADOT Interstate 10 Tucson District. Retrieved on:2012-03-10.
  3. ^ Arizona Department of Transportation Research Center (December 2011). "Arizona Transportation History" (PDF). Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  4. ^ Williams, Tyler. "Making A Beeline". Arizona Highways. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  5. ^ "How the Beeline Highway Got Its Name". Desert Vibe. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
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