State Route 96 (SR 96), is an east–west, state highway in central part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. It runs from Bagdad east to Yavapai County Road 15 (CR 15) near Hillside. The road was built in the late 1930s and logged as a state route from Bagdad to Hillside in 1962. The section from Bagdad to SR 97 was never officially part of the State Highway system, though the remainder of the highway was officially designated as such at the turn of the century.

Route description

SR 96 begins at an intersection with Old Dick Road in Bagdad. Approximately to the east is a junction with

SR 97 Route 97, or Highway 97, may refer to: Australia - Olympic Dam Highway, South Australia Canada * British Columbia Highway 97 ** British Columbia Highway 97A ** British Columbia Highway 97B ** British Columbia Highway 97C ** British Columbia ...

, which heads south to meet

U.S. Route 93 U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major north–south United States highway, numbered highway in the western United States. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 60 in Arizona, US 60 in Wickenburg, Arizona. The northern terminus is at the ...

(US 93). From the SR 97 intersection, SR 96 heads east through a desert area. The roadway then turns southward, and after intersecting Santa Maria River Road, it crosses the Santa Maria River and turns slightly southeastward. Through a hilly area, SR 96 turns eastward and passes through a series of hairpin turns. The highway ends at the west end of CR 15 at the intersection with Hillside Road. The road continues east as CR 15 (Bagdad Road) towards Kirkland. The highway is maintained by the

Arizona Department of Transportation The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT, pronounced "A-Dot") is an Arizona state government agency charged with facilitating mobility within the state. In addition to managing the state's state highways, highway system, the agency is also i ...

(ADOT) who is responsible for constructing and maintaining highways in the state. As part of this role, ADOT surveys volumes of traffic on their highways. These surveys are most often presented in the form of

annual average daily traffic Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a y ...

(AADT), which is the number of vehicles that travel a road during an average day during the year. In 2009, ADOT calculated that an average of only 450 vehicles used the road daily at both termini. No part of the highway has been listed in the National Highway System, a system of roads in the United States important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.

History

A road connecting Bagdad to Hillside was built by 1939. The road was logged into the state highway system in 1962, its extent defined from Hillside to Bagdad. In 1981, a

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

was acquired for the improvement of approaches and bridges on the route. In 2000, the portion of the route from SR 97 to its eastern terminus was officially added to the State Highway system. Although some signage west of the SR 97 junction exists, that portion is not officially part of the state highway system.

Junction list

References

External links

AZ 96 at Arizona Roads
{{Good article 096 Transportation in Yavapai County, Arizona