ADOT celebrating Arizona's centennial with photo report

Arizona is celebrating its 100th birthday on Tuesday and the Arizona Department of Transportation is doing its part to commemorate the state.

In a new report titled "Arizona's Transportation History", ADOT covers the entire span of how people moved across the state, from the 1400s to the present day.

The earliest roads in Arizona were walking trails established by the Native Americans. These eventually turned into wagon trails used by early settlers. In 1857, there were two federal wagon trails constructed across the then New Mexico territory, which included Arizona.

The first railway came to the Arizona Territory in the late 1870s.

When Arizona was declared a state in 1912, the Arizona Highway Department was born and the state began to construct both local and federal highways in earnest, especially with the federal funding for the nationwide network of interstates.

"The biggest accomplishments in Arizona's highway history—the ones that really changed how Arizonans live—came early in the last century, when Arizona's highway engineers built the state's first modern, all-weather roads," said Dr. Mark Pry, one of the researchers and authors of the report, in a press release.

Arizona's highway boom came into full realization between the 1940 and 1980. In the 40-year span, the state saw major highways, like I-10, I-8 and I-17 built, along with local highways, such as SR 260 from Payson to Show Low and SR 74 from the I-17 to Wickenburg. This time period also brought Phoenix's first freeway system, with the addition of I-10, I-17 and US 60.

Today, ADOT monitors nearly 7,000 miles of highways in the state.