Arizona State Route 143

State Route 143
State Route 143
Hohokam Expressway
	SR 143 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by ADOT
Length	3.93 mi (6.32 km)
Existed	1957–present
Major junctions
South end	I-10 / US 60 in Phoenix
	Loop 202 in Phoenix
North end	McDowell Road in Phoenix
Location
Country	United States
State	Arizona
Counties	Maricopa
Highway system
	Arizona State Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Proposed; Former;

Arizona State Route 143, also known as SR 143 and the Hohokam Expressway, is a north–south and access-controlled freeway in

Loop 202

, which is located one half-mile south of McDowell Road and the northern terminus.

The road lies directly to the east of

US 60. This removes the need to travel longer on frequently congested I-10 and avoid the junction with Interstate 17's

southern terminus.

Route description

The Hohokam Expressway begins at an

Sky Harbor International Airport prior to the Salt River

crossing.

The southern half of SR 143 begins with the original interchange with University Drive, and then one with Interstate 10 and US 60. After these two interchanges, the freeway ends by transitioning into 48th Street, a surface street.

History

The Hohokam Expressway has a long history and gestation period. The road was first planned in 1957 as SR 143 as part of the 1960 Phoenix Freeway plan as a collector road for traffic from the east side of

valley such as the Tempe and Chandler suburbs.^[3]

The final design was released in 1974, when SR 143 was not yet a freeway, but a

traffic signals and intersections. The design portrayed the new parkway leaving Interstate 10 north along 48th Street corridor, then angling across the Salt River to reach 44th Street where it was planned to end at Washington Street When it opened in 1978, it included the vital eastern access to Sky Harbor Airport, replacing the old 40th Street entrance that was eliminated when 40th Street was demolished to make way for a new airport terminal and runway expansions.^[3]

The new parkway rapidly earned a reputation as a constantly

bottleneck

at the University Drive overpass.)

In 1985, the route was surveyed as part of the new Maricopa Association of Governments 1985 Freeway Plan, and was added to the system with a reroute and upgrade to freeway status. Business Loop I-10 was renamed to SR 143 and was realigned to meet up with the under-construction Loop 202 at 48th Street, as opposed to the old 44th Street alignment.^[4] Eventually the route from Sky Harbor Boulevard to Loop 202 was moved onto an entirely new path along the Old Cross Cut Canal right-of-way, roughly paralleling 46th Street beginning at Washington Street Draft plans also included extending the route 2 miles further north along the relatively narrow 48th Street/canal corridor, curving over McDowell Road and ending abruptly at Indian School Road. The route, which is almost entirely residential, met with significant neighborhood opposition and was eventually dropped, although the north-bound exit and south-bound entrance at McDowell Road was retained.

Construction timeline

February 1991: University Drive to Sky Harbor Boulevard
November 1991: Sky Harbor Boulevard to Washington Street
February 1992: Washington Street to McDowell Road
January 2011: Major interchange improvements at Loop 202
2021-2024: Interchange improvements as a part of the I-10/Broadway Curve expansion

Safety concerns

rumble strips have been cut into the bridge deck at several intervals, and there is a sign that turns on if the signal is red and the speed limit is reduced, further alerting traffic that the freeway is ending.[1]

Part of the bridge deck is shared with an exit-only lane leading to a

Sky Harbor Expressway with 45 mph (72 km/h), Arizona 51 south of Glendale Rd with 55 mph, and Interstate 17 with 55 mph (89 km/h).^[5]

Exit list

The entire route is in Maricopa County.

Location	mi^[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Phoenix–Tempe line	0.00	0.00		48th Street south	Continuation beyond southern terminus
	0.00– 0.14	0.00– 0.23	1	Los Angeles, Tucson	Southern terminus; signed as exits 1A (east) and 1B (west); I-10 exit 153A
				I-10 east / US 60 east	Planned HOV interchange; to be southbound exit and northbound entrance^[6]
	1.01	1.63	2	University Drive
Salt River	1.66	2.67	Bridge
Phoenix	2.01	3.23	3A	Loop 202 east	Northbound exit and southbound entrance via SR 202 Spur; Loop 202 exit 5
	2.44	3.93	3B	Sky Harbor Airport	No northbound entrance
	2.81	4.52	4	Washington Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	3.06– 3.52	4.92– 5.66	5	Loop 202 west to I-10 / SR 51	Loop 202 exit 3
	4.04	6.50		McDowell Road	At-grade intersection ; northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Incomplete access Unopened