State Route 71 (1927–1936)
editSR 71 was among the first state highways to be designated on September 9, 1927, during the implementation of Arizona's state highway numbering plan.[1]
Route description
editU.S. Route 160 (US 160) begins at a junction with US 89 west of Tuba City within the Navajo Nation.[2] US 160 continues east past the Tuba City Airport as a paved two-lane arterial road. The highway curves to the north, east of the airport, scaling the western edge of a large ridge, before turning to the east, crossing over the ridge.[3] East of the ridge, US 160 continues due east into Tuba City, briefly turning to the northeast, before meeting the western terminus of State Route 264 (SR 264) at a traffic light intersection with Main Street.[2] US 160 continues east to the edge of town, then heads northeast, and passes through Tonalea. The small community is the location of a natural landmark known as the "Elephant's Feet", which comprises two small layered stone buttes directly bordering the northern edge of the highway.[3] East of Tonalea, US 160 parallels the disused tracks of the Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad. Just south of Shonto, US 160 arrives at the eastern terminus of SR 98 at a four-way intersection.[2]
Northeast of the SR 98 junction, US 160 skirts the base of a large mesa on the south side of the highway, passing Navajo National Monument and SR 564 through Tsegi. US 160 stops paralleling the tracks of the Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad, which end at a loop west of Tsegi.[3] West of Kayenta, the highway assumes an east-by-northeast direction into the town. US 160 meets the southern terminus of US 163 at a four-way intersection.[2] Immediately east of US 163, the highway passes the southern edge of Kayenta Airport. At the intersection with Navajo Route 59 (N59) near Church Rock Valley, US 160 turns to the northeast, passing through Dennehotso and crossing a bridge over Chinle Creek. US 160 closely parallels the Utah state line east of Chinle Wash. Near Mexican Water, US 160 arrives at a junction with US 191.[3]
East of Mexican Water, US 160 and US 191 share a short concurrency to the southern terminus of N12, where US 191 turns north towards Utah, running concurrent with N12. US 160 continues northeast, then curves east through Red Mesa.[2] East of a junction with N35, US 160 turns southeast.[3] The highway gently curves back to the northeast, before making a sharp curve heading southeast again, meeting the western terminus of US 64 at a three-way intersection in Teec Nos Pos.[2] US 64 continues straight ahead from the intersection, where US 160 turns to the left, heading north-by-northeast, before curving northeast and crossing into New Mexico near Four Corners Monument.[3]
- ^ Arizona State Highway Department (1927). Arizona State Highway Commission Official State Routes and State Highways of the State of Arizona (Map). 1:1,267,200. Cartography by W.B. Land. Arizona Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via AARoads.
- ^ a b c d e f Arizona Department of Transportation, Multimodal Planning Division (2021). State Highway System (ArcGIS) (Map). Arizona Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f ""Overview Map of US 160 in Arizona"" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 5, 2023.