| I-19 | |||
| Get started | Nogales | ||
| End | Tucson | ||
| Length | 63 mi | ||
| Length | 102 km | ||
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According to CITYPOPULATIONREVIEW.COM, Interstate 19 or I -19 is an Interstate Highway in the United States, located entirely in the southwestern state of Arizona. I-19 is a relatively short north-south route from the Mexican border at Nogales to Tucson, Arizona’s second largest city. A striking item about this highway is that the signage and exit numbering are based on the metric system, so the exit numbers and distances are based on kilometers. The highway is 102 kilometers long.
Travel directions
I-19.
The highway begins just after the Mexican border, where Mexican Carretera Federal 15 merges into the United States. This is in Nogales, a border town of 21,000 inhabitants. On the other side of the border, the Mexican town of Nogales is much larger, with a population of 290,000. The first exit leads to a minor road that leads to an alternative border crossing, so you don’t have to go straight through Nogales. It ends up on a Mexican highway. The highway itself runs through desert landscape, at an altitude of about 1,100 meters. the highwayruns through the valley of the Santa Cruz River, which is still somewhat inhabited. The next place is Green Valley, which consists mainly of new housing developments. Mining takes place in this area. One soon arrives at the city of Tucson, one of the largest cities in Arizona with a population of 520,000, and 992,000 in the metropolitan area. Tucson is quite special because the city has only two highways, of which Interstate 10 is the most important. The I-19 only passes through the southern suburbs. At South Tucson, the freeway terminates at I-10, leading west to Phoenix, San Diego, and Los Angeles, and east to El Paso and San Antonio..
History
Most of the highway follows the route of the former US 89. The first section of the highway opened to traffic in Tucson in 1965. The highway was mainly constructed during the late 1960s and early 1970s, with the last section being opened in 1979. Between 2002 and 2005, the interchange with I-10 in Tucson was reconstructed.
Opening history
| From | Unpleasant | Length | Date |
| km 95 | km 102 | 7 km | 1965 |
| km 17 | km 25 | 8 km | 1966 |
| km 4 | km 17 | 13 km | 1968 |
| km 80 | km 95 | 15 km | 1969 |
| km 0 | km 4 | 4 km | 1971 |
| km 75 | km 80 | 5 km | 1971 |
| km 69 | km 75 | 6 km | 1972 |
| km 51 | km 69 | 18 km | 1976 |
| km 40 | km 51 | 11 km | 1977 |
| km 25 | km 33 | 8 km | 1978 |
| km 33 | km 40 | 7 km | 1979 |
Metric Signs
Metric sign on I-19.
On I-19, signposts use the metric system, with meters and kilometers. This is the only Interstate Highway in the United States where this is the case. The speed limit is in miles per hour. In the 1970s, when I-19 was built, there was a push in the United States to adopt the metric system. Other countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand also switched to the metric system at the time. In 1980, the Arizona Department of Transportation awarded a contract to make all signposts along I-19 metric. Metric signs were also installed elsewhere in the United States in the 1970s, but these have been replaced by the American system over time.
Traffic intensities
I-19 at Ajo Way in Tucson.
| # | 2013 | 2016 |
| Exit 0 Nogales | 9.400 | 9,600 |
| Exit 1 Western Avenue | 12,000 | 13,500 |
| Exit 4 Mariposa Road | 21,000 | 22,500 |
| Exit 8 Grand Avenue | 32,000 | 32,600 |
| Exit 12 Pena Blanca Road | 24,000 | 27,400 |
| Exit 17 Rio Rico Road | 18,000 | 18,000 |
| Exit 34 Tubac | 16,000 | 17,800 |
| Exit 48 Arivaca Road | 20,000 | 38,700 |
| Exit 63 Green Valley | 33,000 | 31,500 |
| Exit 75 Sahuarita | 35,000 | 41,600 |
| Exit 95 Valencia Road | 69,000 | 71.700 |
| Exit 98 Irvington Road | 81,000 | 86,900 |
| Exit 99 Ajo Way | 89,000 | 103,700 |
Lane Configuration
| From | Unpleasant | Lanes | Comments |
| exit 0 | Exit 99 | 2×2 | |
| Exit 99 | Exit 101 | 2×3 | Tucson |
Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge
| Mike O’Callaghan–Pat TillmanMemorial Bridge | |
| Spans | Colorado River |
| Lanes | 2×2 |
| Total length | 579 meters |
| Main span | 323 meters |
| Bridge deck height | 270 meters |
| Opening | 19-10-2010 |
| Traffic intensity | 15,000 mvt/day |
| Location | Map |
According to ASK4BEAUTY, the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, also known as the Hoover Dam Bypass is a concrete arch bridge in the United States, located on the border of the states of Arizona and Nevada.
Characteristics
The bridge spans the Colorado River right next to the Hoover Dam. The bridge has a total length of 579 meters and a main span of 323 meters. The bridge deck is above the arch and is 270 meters above the river. It is the highest concrete arch bridge in the world. Over the bridge, US 93 in Arizona and US 93 in Nevada run from Phoenix to Las Vegas in 2×2 lanes. The bridge is toll-free.
History
Between 1931 and 1936, the Hoover Dam was built on the Colorado River, creating Lake Mead, which supplied the southwestern United States with water. When it opened in 1935, US 93 was routed over it, connecting the then small towns of Las Vegas (pop. 5,000) and Phoenix (pop. 48,000). Both cities grew very quickly from the 1950s, but US 93 remained a two-lane bottleneck. Because the Hoover Dam was still some distance from Las Vegas, commuter traffic in this area was non-existent. However, through traffic was mixed with tourist traffic and pedestrians on the road over the dam.
In 1995, US 93 over the Hoover Dam became part of the CANAMEX Corridor, later to be expanded as Interstate 11. From the late 1990s, the procedures for a bypass at the Hoover Dam were completed. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the bridge was prioritized because the Hoover Dam would be an easy target for truck bombs, which could endanger the energy and water supplies of southwestern United States.
The bridge was built in 5.5 years between February 2005 and October 2010. The bridge was opened on October 16, 2010, once for pedestrians, and on October 19, 2010 for motorized traffic. The construction of the landmark bridge was covered in many magazines, TV shows and on the Internet because of the technical challenges of building a large arch bridge in a canyon. The Hoover Dam Bypass project cost $240 million, including $114 million for the bridge itself.
The bridge is named after Mike O’Callaghan (1929-2004) who was governor of Nevada between 1971 and 1979, and Pat Tillman (1976-2004) an American football player who enlisted in 2002 and was killed in 2004 by friendly fire. When opened, the bridge was the second tallest in the United States (after the Royal Gorge Bridge ) and the world’s tallest concrete arch bridge. The bridge also has the longest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere.
Traffic intensities
Approximately 15,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day.
