US 191 in Arizona

According to Findjobdescriptions, US 191 is a US Highway in the US state of Arizona. The road forms a long north-south route in the east of the state, running from Douglas, near the Mexican border, due north to the Utah border. On the way you cross the I-10 and I-40, but you do not pass through larger towns. The route is 821 kilometers long.

Travel directions

The road begins in the border town of Douglas, opposite the Mexican city of Agua Prieta on SR-80, the road from Benson. US 191 then runs north through a desert-like area at an altitude of about 1,200 meters. In this area are some ranches with sporadic circular irrigation as agriculture. The route to I-10 is about 105 kilometers long, passing through a few villages along the way. At Cochise, US 191 merges with Interstate 10, the highway from Tucson to El Paso. You then pass Willcox, a regional center with 3,200 inhabitants. A little past Willcox the US 191 hits after a double numbering21 miles off I-10, and begins a 31-mile route to Safford in the north. This area consists of a hilly to mountainous desert area. To the east is nothing at all, to the west the Coronado National Forest. You then reach Safford, a small town with 8,900 inhabitants, where US 191 is double -numbered with US 70, the road from Globe to Lordsburg in New Mexico. Then you go into the mountains, which are not yet very high here. The desert gives way to a more temperate forest area with low trees, of the Apache-Sitgeaves National Forest. The road passes the Morenci Mine, the largest copper mine in North America. The road runs through the desolate excavated landscape, and just goes through the mine. The road then becomes very winding with many hairpin bends and rises to an altitude of about 2,200 meters, with beautiful views.

US 191 at Mexican Water.

Meanwhile, the road continues to climb, to an altitude of about 2,800 meters. This area is so high that the deserts that cover most of Arizona are invisible. The road then descends to Alpine, at about 2,400 meters, where US 180 merges from Silver City, beginning a double-numbering of 87 kilometers. The road then descends to a plateau around the village of Eagar, where it crosses US 60, the road from Globe and Phoenix to Socorro. The area is then a bit flatter, and one slowly descends towards the north, to about 1,800 meters. The environment becomes desert-like again. In St. Johns, the US turns 180heading west towards Flagstaff. US 191 then continues north through the uninhabited desert, the next town is 85 kilometers away on Interstate 40. One then crosses the I-40 via a short double numbering. I-40 connects the Los Angeles and Flagstaff region to Albuquerque in New Mexico.

One then enters the Navajo Nation, an autonomous area the size of twice the Netherlands, where the Navajo Indians live. There are few settlements here, and the distances are great. The route leads through an arid plateau, a transition from prairies to desert. Not much grows here, and people hardly cross paths. You then pass the Canyon de Chelly National Monument, a canyon with ruins of old houses. US 191 then runs along its western side and continues its route over the Carson Mesa, a desolate area with hardly any signs of civilization. Most villages on the route also have no more than a few hundred inhabitants. Along the route are numerous Buttes, steep, flat-topped rock cliffs. At the Mexican Water region one crosses the US 160, the road from Tuba City to Durango, Colorado. The border with Utah follows shortly after. US 191 in Utah then continues toward Moab.

History

According to indexdotcom, although US 191 was created in 1926, it did not cross Arizona until 1981. US 191 was routed over State Route 63 between I-40 and Mexican Water (US 160). US 191 then ended in Chambers on I-40. In 1992 US 191 was extended further south to Douglas on the border with Mexico. Here, US 191 replaced US 666, whose signposts were continuously stolen.

Morenci Mine

At Morenci the US 191 runs straight through a large open-cast mine. There are wishes to reroute US 191, but traffic levels north of the mine are extremely low with only 80 vehicles per day on the 130 kilometer stretch from Morenci Mine to Alpine. This is believed to be the lowest traffic volume of all US Highways in the United States. The costs for a transfer are seen as exorbitant in relation to the use. One possible solution is to completely shut down US 191 on this stretch, and reroute US 191 from Three Way via State Route 78 and US 180 in New Mexico to Alpine. This route is only 5 miles longer and 30 minutes faster than the winding US 191.

A closure of US 191 will affect the accessibility of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest from the south, as well as the entire north of Greenlee County, which will then become inaccessible by road. This portion of US 191 is also a tourist road, the Coronado Trail Scenic Byway. However, the costs of maintaining the road are high compared to the use. US 191 is regularly damaged by landslides and wildfires.

Traffic intensities

The route is largely deserted, in villages there is still some traffic, such as 9,000 vehicles at Safford, but beyond that there is hardly any traffic, with intensities of barely 1,000 vehicles per day, sometimes even lower.