Kino Parkway - Cancelled Interstate 710

Interstate 710 was part of the urban Interstate numerology approved by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) Route Numbering Committee for the state of Arizona on November 10, 1958. The route was outlined as following S Campbell Avenue north from I-10 at the Tucson-Benson Highway to E Broadway Boulevard. It remained on planning maps for Tucson until at least 1971.1
Highway proposals in the 1970s for Tucson included the Butterfield Expressway, a route following Golf Links Road west from Kolb Road to the Union Pacific Railroad, then along a portion of what was built for Barraza-Aviation Parkway (SR 210) to I-10 south of Downtown Tucson. Interstate 710 was outlined as heading south from the Butterfield Expressway near Campbell Avenue to Tucson International Airport (TUS). Both plans were largely controversial, with opponents citing concerns about environmental losses, property condemnation and suburban sprawl.2
Cancelled by 1976 due to opposition, I-710 as proposed from I-10 near Ajo Way north to the intersection of Broadway Boulevard and Campbell Avenue was estimated to cost $30 million with federal funding. The city of Tucson instead built Kino Parkway, which was both considerably less costly in funds and in impact to the community3 Kino Parkway was constructed along the same corridor outlined for I-710 along Campbell Avenue.
Kino Parkway is named after Father Eusebio Kino, a well known missionary-explorer who visited Southern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico on many trips during the late 1600s.4

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References:
- "On the Go Travel notes." Arizona Daily Star, The (Tucson, AZ), June 9, 2002.
- "Who went and highjacked our crosstown freeway?" Arizona Daily Star, The (Tucson, AZ), June 29, 2015.
- "The Road Not Taken - A glance in the rearview mirror." Tucson Weekly (AZ), July 12, 2001.
- "Remember Kino - He arrived in this valley 300 years ago." Arizona Daily Star, The (Tucson, AZ), September 15, 1992.
Photo Credits:
- ABRoads: 04/26/17
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Page Updated Thursday April 28, 2022.