Arizona State Route 74
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| Carefree Highway | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by ADOT | ||||
| Length: | 31.02 mi[1] (49.92 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1964 – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: |  US 60 near Morristown |
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| East end: |  I-17 in Phoenix |
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| Highway system | ||||
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→State Route 74 (SR 74) is a state highway in central Arizona that stretches east to west from its junction with U.S. Route 60 (US 60) just south of Wickenburg to its junction with Interstate 17 (I-17) in North Phoenix. It serves Lake Pleasant Regional Park and serves as a northern bypass around the often congested stretches of US 60 through the northwest suburbs of the Phoenix Metropolitan area. From end to end, it is 30.4 miles (48.9 km) long.
Carefree Highway/SR 74 is also the inspiration for a Gordon Lightfoot song of the same name.[2]
Contents
Route description
Stretches of the highway are known as the Morristown-New River Highway, Lake Pleasant Highway, and Carefree Highway, the last of which actually extends 12 miles (19 km) past I-17 to Tom Darlington Drive in Carefree. This stretch of Carefree Highway is sometimes numbered as SR 74 on maps, but is not actually part of the state highway system.
This route offers good views of undeveloped desert landscapes, especially of large saguaro and other desert plants. It is frequently used as an alternate route to U.S. Route 60 (Grand Avenue) between Phoenix and Wickenburg for motorists traveling to and from Las Vegas, Nevada, with fewer traffic signals than using U.S. Route 60 directly.
History
From 1927 to 1932, SR 74 was assigned from Wickenburg west to Ehrenberg; this stretch of highway was renumbered as part of US 60.
Future
The passage of a sales tax extension by voters in Maricopa County in 2004 provided significant funding for highway improvements throughout the region. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) will use a portion of that funding to acquire right-of-way along SR 74 for future improvements, but has no plans to upgrade the highway to a controlled access freeway until sometime after 2025.[3]
ADOT is also in the planning stages for a bypass around Wickenburg. This bypass would effectively continue SR 74 beyond its current western terminus with US 60 to connect to the planned alignment of future I-11.[4] Whether this bypass would be marked as SR 74 or not is undetermined.
Major intersections
The entire route is in Maricopa County.
| Location | mi[5] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morristown | 0.00 | 0.00 | US 60 – Phoenix, Wickenburg |
Western terminus | |
| Phoenix | 30.40 | 48.92 | I-17 – Flagstaff, Phoenix |
Eastern terminus, Exit 223 on I-17; continues east as Carefree Highway | |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
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See also
References
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External links
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