Superior - Miami Highway - Superior, AZ - Arizona Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Prior to the 1920's travel between the copper mining towns of central Arizona and the farming communities of the Salt River Valley was limited to horseback riding. In 1919 construction began for a two lane road between Superior and Miami. This involved blasting a roadbed from steep canyon walls and building bridges over rocky stream beds. This marker recognizes the effort involved in creating this road.
From the marker. "Legendary Highway History of Superior - Miami Highway. Construction began in 1919
Formally Opened in April 1922
When opened in 1922 a Phoenix to Miami road trip took three and a half hours. Before that an automobile trip from Globe to Phoenix via Roosevelt Lake over the Apache Trail took all day.
As a cost saving measure convict labor was used to complete some of the project's toughest jobs like completing the old Claypool tunnel.
A prison camp was constructed along Queen Creek west of where the water tank stands today.
Nicknamed "Convict Highway" and "Million Dollar Highway".
As you walk along the Legends of Superior trail you are traversing the original Superior - Miami Highway. the highway was constructed in the early 1900s as a way to connect the region's prosperous mining district with the agricultural centers of the Salt and Gila Valleys. At the time the road was considered one of the most noted engineering projects in the country. The highway was noted for its breath-taking views, dangerously tight turns, cliffs and grades, leading it to be replaced in 1952 by the current stretch of US 60 and the Queen Creek tunnel."

Marker Name: Legendary Highway Type of history commemorated: Place County: Pinal Name of any agency/ agencies setting marker: Lost Trails of Superior Year placed: Unknown

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