Skip to main content

US Route 191Y


US Roure 191Y is a hidden State Highway designation on Page Ranch Road in Cochise County, Arizona.  US Route 191Y is a 3.5-mile spur of US Route 191 which originates at Interstate 10 Exit 355 and terminates to the northwest via Page Ranch Road at mainline US Route 191.  US Route 191Y is not a signed highway but nonetheless has Arizona Department of Transportation mile markers reflecting mileage from mainline US Route 191.  Page Ranch Road was added to the Arizona State Highway system as US Route 666Y during 1958.  During 1992 US Route 191 was extended south to the Mexican border which led to Page Ranch Road being reassigned as US Route 191Y. 


Part 1; the history of US Route 191Y

What is now US Route 191Y and Page Ranch Road was added to the Arizona State Highway System during September 9, 1927, as Arizona State Route 81.  Arizona State Route 81 originated at US Route 80 near Douglas and terminated at the US Route 180 in Safford.  Arizona State Route 81 can be seen aligned past Bowie Junction and modern Page Ranch Road on the 1927 Arizona State Highway Commission Map.  

Arizona State Route 81 was one of the original Arizona State Routes to be defined.  

During the December 8, 1938, American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) meeting the Executive Commitee approved an Arizona Highway Commission request to extend US Route 666 to US Route 80.  The extension of US Route 666 subsumed the entirety of Arizona State Route 81.  

US Route 666 appears co-assigned with Arizona State Route 81 on the corridor of Page Ranch Road towards Bowie Junction on the 1939 Rand McNally Map of Arizona.  

One of the earliest highway maps to display Page Ranch Road split from US Route 666 is the 1948 Rand McNally Map of Arizona.  Page Ranch Road is displayed as a locally maintained roadway connecting from Arizona State Route 86 at Bowie Junction northwest to US Route 666.  


US Route 666Y was created via a right-of-way resolution dated January 24, 1958


According to the 2013 Arizona Department of Transportation mileage log, Page Ranch Road was built to state standards during 1961.  The mileage log notes Page Ranch Road to currently be part of US Route 191Y.  The US Route 191Y designation for Page Ranch Road during 1961 would have been US Route 666Y.  State maintenance of Page Ranch Road is noted to have been 3.11 miles during 1961.  


The first half mile of US Route 666Y appears to have been realigned at some point during the 1960s during the construction of the Luzena Interchange (Exit 355) of Interstate 10 at Bowie Junction.  The construction of Luzena Interchange extended US Route 666Y to a length of 3.5 miles.  The razed older grade of Page Ranch Road and US Route 666Y can be seen on Google satellite images.  

On May 8, 1992, the Arizona Department of Transportation submitted an application to AASHTO eliminate US Route 666 in the state.  The application came with a secondary request to extend US Route 191 from Chambers south to the Mexican border in Douglas over the existing routing of US Route 666.  Both requests were approved by the AASHTO Executive Committee on June 15, 1992.  






The extension of US Route 191 led to the redesignation US Route 666Y on Arizona Department of Transportation logbooks as US Route 191Y on September 18, 1992.  US Route 191Y is not an officially recognized US Route by AASHTO.  




Part 2; a drive on US Route 191Y

From southbound US Route 191 intersects US Route 191Y at Page Ranch Road approaching Mile Marker 90.  US Route 191Y/Page Ranch Road is simply signed as "3 miles to Interstate 10" from southbound mainline US Route 191.  Note: all photos in this section in addition to the blog cover were taken by Adam Prince.  



The view from the north terminus of US Route 191Y facing towards Mount Graham. 



The view south on US Route 191Y/Page Ranch Road towards Interstate 10 Exit 355.  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l

Mines Road

Mines Road is an approximately twenty-eight-mile highway located in the rural parts of the Diablo Range east of the San Francisco Bay Area.  Mines Road begins in San Antonio Valley in Santa Clara County and terminates at Tesla Road near Livermore of Alameda County.  The highway essentially is a modern overlay of the 1840s Mexican haul trail up Arroyo Mocho known as La Vereda del Monte.  The modern corridor of Mines Road took shape in the early twentieth century following development of San Antonio Valley amid a magnesite mining boom.  Part 1; the history of Mines Road Modern Mines Road partially overlays the historic corridor used by La Vereda del Monte (Mountain Trail).  La Vereda del Monte was part of a remote overland route through the Diablo Range primarily used to drive cattle from Alta California to Sonora.  The trail was most heavily used during the latter days of Alta California during the 1840s. La Vereda del Monte originated at Point of Timber between modern day Byron and Bre

Interstate 210 the Foothill Freeway

The combined Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor of the Foothill Freeway is approximately 85.31-miles.  The Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor begins at Interstate 5 at the northern outskirts of Los Angeles and travels east to Interstate 10 in Redlands of San Bernardino County.  Interstate 210 is presently signed on the 44.9-mile segment of the Foothill Freeway between Interstate 5 and California State Route 57.  California State Route 210 makes up the remaining 40.41 miles of the Foothill Freeway east to Interstate 10.  Interstate 210 is still classified by the Federal Highway Administration as existing on what is now signed as California State Route 57 from San Dimas south to Interstate 10.  The focus of this blog will mostly be on the history of Interstate 210 segment of the Foothill Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Interstate 210 and California State Route 210 Interstate 210 (I-210) was approved as a chargeable Interstate during September of