Heading to Tucson

We live 25 miles south of Tucson and were just over in Indio for three weeks!

Have used the 85 for many years to bypass the mess on Phoenix! And they have improved the road immensely; some places it it is 4 lane divided like driving a freeway.

I would not consider any other route. If you are not going to do it in one day I recommend Augie's in Gila Bend or Leaf Verde in Buckeye - reservations for both. Have been them several times.

Be safe.

(Tucson Jim - when are we going to do coffee?! :-) )

On the weekends, driving thru PHX isn't a problem for us. Weekdays, 85 is a good alternative.

Maybe it's just perception, but I find I-8 to be in worse condition than I-10. They've done a lot of reconstruction on the 10 as it is gradually widened to three lanes between PHX and TUS, while 8 is still the same patched up road it's been since we moved here...

Thanks everyone. Tucson Jim, it's snowing just up the road from me this morning. The 70's sound great.

Do it all the time

I hate to give you the bad news, but it's only going to get up into the 70s on the weekend in Tucson. You might want to bring a heavy coat and dress in layers.

exgman wrote:
I'll be heading to Tucson from Indio in a few days. Is there any reason to not take 85 down from 10 to Gila Bend to miss Phoenix? It looks like a good road to me.

That is definitely the way to go. Good road and a lot less traffic, driven it many times and we drove it a couple of weeks ago returning from Parker and Quartzsite. You'll find Gila Bend to Casa Grande is one of the more scenic drives in southern Arizona. The best gas prices will found in Tucson. :C

That should work fine.

I-10 to I-17 to I-10 is normally pretty easy through Phoenix from 9:30 to 2:30.

Another alternative is I-10 to 99th Ave, south to Buckeye Rd, east to 91st Ave, south to Baseline Rd, east to 51st Ave, south to Beltline Rd which loops south of Phoenix/Ahwatukee and comes out as Riggs Rd at I-10 south of Phoenix. Not much traffic, but a few sections of 35mph zones. You can also exit I-10 at 51st Ave, but there is more traffic.

We go that way all the time. Great road with minimum construction. We just went thru there last month. We also found that fuel was cheaper in Gila Bend than anywhere else. Go figure!!

Nope