Phoenix Streets And Freeways
Phoenix streets and freeways are designed to help you get wherever you want to go quickly and safely.
Whether you’re relying on a GPS or a hard copy road map, it helps if you know some basic information about the City's layout. Phoenix's street and freeway planning scheme is fundamentally a grid, which makes it fairly easy to find your way around.
Links to internet services, including maps, traffic checks, weather information, and more, are provided on the Phoenix Arizona Maps page on this website.
Making Sense of Phoenix Road Maps
The basic information provided here can be useful for residents and visitors alike to understand Phoenix streets and freeways. Note that an arterial road or street is a major thoroughfare designed for high-capacity traffic. Central Avenue and Washington Street are two of Phoenix's arterial roads, and are the dividing lines between its north and south, and east and west areas of the Valley, respectively. (The "Valley" consists of Phoenix and surrounding cities, such as Glendale, Tempe, Scottsdale, Mesa, and several others).
Phoenix's Street Grid System
Central Avenue and Washington Street are Phoenix's street grid dividing lines. Central Avenue divides Phoenix east and west, and Washington Street divides it north and south. Consequently, we've organized the street grid information below accordingly with two sections: Central Avenue and Washington Street.
- The City of Phoenix is laid out in a traditional grid system.
- The number in an address is assigned by the United States Post Office, for example, 1000 North Central Avenue.
- Zero Points for Phoenix are Central Avenue (north / south) and Washington Street (east / west).
Central Avenue
Runs north and south
Streets, Places, Ways, Avenues, Drives, and Lanes divided by Central Avenue are identified numerically by Hundred Block, such as 7th Avenue and 16th Street, and east / west arterials are identified by Hundred Block AND by Proper Names.
- Numbered Streets run north and south, east of Central Avenue, and are identified by Hundred Block (such as 7th Street, 16th Street, 24th Street, etc.).
- Numbered Places run north and south, east of corresponding numbered streets.
- Numbered Ways run north and south, east of corresponding numbered places.
- Numbered Avenues run north and south, west of Central Avenue, and are identified by Hundred Block (such as 7th Avenue, 15th Avenue, 19th Avenue, etc.).
- Numbered Drives run north and south, west of corresponding numbered avenues.
- Numbered Lanes run north and south, west of corresponding numbered drives.
- East and west arterials are identified by Hundred Block AND by Proper Names.
Washington Street
Runs east and west
Streets, Avenues, etc. divided by Washington Street are identified by name. Those names are listed below, and the corresponding numbers denote the starting point of the Street, Avenue, etc. (An "N" following the starting number means that the Street, et. al. is to the North of Washington Street, and an "S" means that it is to the South).
North of Washington Street
- Central Avenue – 000 N
- Van Buren Street – 300 N
- Grand Avenue begins at 7th Avenue and Van Buren Street (300 N) and extends NW beyond Phoenix City Limits
- Roosevelt Street – 1000 N
- McDowell Road – 1600 N
- Thomas Road – 2900 N.
- Indian School Road – 4100 N
- Camelback Road – 5000 N
- Bethany Home Road – 6000 N
- Glendale Avenue – 7000 N
- Northern Avenue – 8000 N
- Dunlap – 9000 N
- Peoria Avenue – 10600 N
- Cactus Road – 12200 N
- Thunderbird Road – 13800 N
- Greenway Road – 15400 N
- Bell Road – 17000 N
- Union Hills – 18600 N
- Deer Valley Road – 21800 N
- Beardsley Road – 20200 N
- Happy Valley Road -25000 N
- Jomax Road – 26600 N
- Dynamite Blvd. – 28200 N
- Dixileta Drive – 29800 N
- Lone Mountain Road – 31400 N
- Sonoran Blvd. – 31400 N
- Carefree Hwy. – 34600 N
South of Washington Street
- Washington Street – 000 S
- Buckeye Road – 1200 S
- Lower Buckeye Road – 2800 S
- Broadway Road – 4400 S.
- Southern Avenue – 6000 N
The Salt River Channel runs between Southern Avenue and Baseline Road.
- Baseline Road – 7600 S
- Dobbins Road – 9200 S
- Elliott Road – 10800 S
- Warner Road – 12400 S
- Ray Road – 14000 S
Freeways and State Highways
Inside the City of Phoenix
Courtesy of the Arizona Department Of Transportation
Like all major cities in the United States, Phoenix is served by several freeways and highways, enabling quick and easy travel between its neighboring cities, the State of Arizona, the rest of the United States. Phoenix's highway system includes:
One nearly transcontinental highway:
- U.S. Route 60, which runs from the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast in Virginia to western Arizona.
Two interstate freeways:
- I-10, the fourth-longest Interstate Highway in the United States.
- I-17. I-17 is also known as the Black Canyon Freeway from the northern end of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area to its first interchange with I-10 northwest of Downtown Phoenix, called "The Stack." (The Stack enables smooth progress of traffic between I-17, U.S. Route 60, and I-10).
Several state highways:
- State Route 51 (SR 51), also known as the Piestewa Freeway, which connects I-10 in Downtown Phoenix with Loop 101 on the north side of Phoenix. (Piestewa Freeway was named after Lori Piestewa, the first known Native American woman to die in combat for the U.S. Military).
- State Route 85 (SR 85), which connects I-8 and I-10 and serves travelers between Phoenix, Yuma, and San Diego.
- State Route 101, better known as "Loop 101," a semi-beltway encompassing much of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area.
- State Route 202, better known as "Loop 202," a beltway encompassing the eastern Phoenix, Arizona Metropolitan area, including Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, and Gilbert.
- State Route 143 (SR 143), also known as the Hohokam Expressway, is a north / south-running freeway that lies directly east of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
State Routes 303, 801, 87, 85, and 74 connect Phoenix with other areas of the Valley.
Navigating Phoenix streets and freeways is relatively easy, it just takes a little planning - and the information on this page should help you with that.
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
-- From an old Irish Blessing
Top of Phoenix Streets And Freeways page
Go to Phoenix Arizona Maps page
Share your stories about Phoenix with us.
Join us on Facebook - we would love to hear from you!