U.S. Route 80 in Arizona
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| Ocean-to-Ocean Highway | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by ADOT | ||||
| Length: | 498 mi (801 km) | |||
| Existed: | November 11, 1926 – October 6, 1989 | |||
| Major intersections (In 1956) | ||||
| West end: |
 US 80 in Yuma
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| East end: |
 US 80 at the New Mexico state line |
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| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Yuma, Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, Cochise | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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U.S. Route 80 (US 80) also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway was a major transcontinental highway which existed in the U.S. state of Arizona from November 11, 1926, to October 6, 1989. At its peak, US 80 traveled from the California border in Yuma to the New Mexico state line near Lordsburg. Locals often used US 80 to reach the beaches around San Diego during the hot Arizona summers. US 80 was a particularly long highway, reaching almost 500 miles (800 km) long within the state of Arizona alone. With the advent of the Interstate Highway System, Interstate 10 and Interstate 8 both replaced US 80 within the state. US 80 was removed from Arizona in 1989; the remainder of it now being State Route 80.
The general path of the Gila Trail in Arizona was traversed by Native Americans for thousands of years. The first non-Native person to travel the Gila Trail was a Spanish owned African slave named Esteban, who had been brought to North America in 1527 as part of the colonization of Florida by Charles V of Spain. In 1538, Esteban accompanied a Franciscan Monk by the name of Marcos de Niza on a quest, which included travelling along the Gila Trail. Father Eusebio Kino utilized the Gila Trail to establish missions across present day southern Arizona and California. In 1821, southern Arizona had become part of Mexico. The first Americans on the trail were 19th Century fur trappers, who made use of the nearby Gila River's beaver population. During the Mexican-American War Lieutenant General Stephen W. Kearney of the United States Army sent his Army of the West over the Gila Trail, followed by companies of the Mormon Battalion the following year. Following the Mexican-American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, the land surrounding the Gila Trail became part of the United States and was organized as New Mexico Territory in 1850. Arizona was established as a territory in 1863 and was granted statehood in 1912.
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