US highway endpoint in Flagstaff, AZ
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1966-1970, 1992-present
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When the US routes were first created, Flagstaff was situated at the junction of US 66 and US 89. It was around 1961 that the US 180 designation was extended westward through town and on to the Grand Canyon. A few years later, a new US 164 was commissioned, running through the Indian reservations between Flagstaff and Cortez CO. The highway followed today's US 160 between Cortez and Tuba City, and was then co-signed with US 89 down to Flag, where its terminus was at its junction with US 66. At the time, US 160 went north and west out of Cortez into Utah, but in 1970 it was rerouted along its present corridor (south and west into Arizona). At that point, US 164 would have been overlapped with other US routes along its entirety, so the designation was eliminated.
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Fast forward about 20 years: in 1992, much of US 89 was decommissioned in Arizona, such that its south end was (and still is) in Flag. US 66 had long been decommissioned in Arizona (thanks to I-40), but US 180 still runs along part of its historic route through Flag. So, bottom line: where US 164 historically ended at US 66 is basically the same place where US 89 now ends at US 180 (the only difference is that the roads were slightly realigned when the connection to I-40's exit 201 was built). The sign bridge shown in this interactive image is for traffic approaching the south end of US 89:
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That is also westbound on historic US 66. At the signalized junction visible in the background, the "End" marker shown here is posted:
Schecter, Oct. 2014
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That sign was not there until 2008 or later. Straight ahead is westbound US 180/Business 40, while eastbound is to the left on Country Club Drive. That is also essentially where US 164 formerly ended at US 66. Before that "End" sign was there, the US 89 signs just abruptly ended, and traffic was presented with this overhead sign:
Jensen, Sep. 2002
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Odd how US 180 was signed as "North", since it is an east-west route. The opposite side of that old sign bridge is shown next; the south beginning of US 89 was heralded thus:
Jensen, Sep. 2002
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Elbert, Apr. 2008 (unchanged as of 2013)
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Historically that was the perspective of someone on eastbound US 66 and northbound US 89... and for a four-year period during the late 1960s, it was US 164 that began straight ahead, co-signed with US 89. By the time of the photos above, that was eastbound on US 180/Bus. 40, which continued to the right; the south beginning of US 89 was straight ahead. The first photo showed a flyover ramp at that junction, but the second photo illustrates that it has since been reconfigured to an at-grade intersection. Today the first US 89 marker is posted just beyond that junction...
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Schecter, Oct. 2014
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...but that was fairly new at the time of that photo. Before that sign was posted, one had to continue ahead a mile or so before the first northbound confirming assembly was seen:
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Elbert, Apr. 2008
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It should be noted that there are several signs in Flagstaff that belie US 89's true terminus. For example, heading east on I-40, exit signage makes it look like US 89 begins at interchange 201, as can be seen in this progression:
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Sanderson, Mar. 2013 (all)
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Most drivers exiting there are not going to be heading back west; it is likely that most people are heading north on US 89. So if it makes sense to sign this exit for US 89, then why not extend the designation to this exit? As a matter of fact, historically the US 89 designation probably did extend to this interchange, based on the fact that in 2012 AZDoT obtained AASHTO permission to vacate the segment of US 89 between I-40 and Old US 66. So technically exit 201 leads to westbound US 180/Business I-40, which in turn leads to the south beginning of US 89. But signage makes it look like US 89 begins at the interchange; once a driver has made that left turn from the offramp, they are presented with these:
Sanderson, Mar. 2013
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Technically the US 89 designation does not begin until one makes that right turn. Also, the sign shown here is posted a few blocks west of where US 89 ends, but it still indicates that US 89 continues further south:
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Elbert, Apr. 2008
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Research and/or photo credits: Jesse Bender; Chris Elbert; Jeff Jensen; Dale Sanderson; James Schecter
Page originally created 2004;
last updated May 23, 2016.
last updated May 23, 2016.
