Arizona State Route 68
{{Short description|State highway in Arizona, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox road
|state=AZ
|type=SR
|route=68
|map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=240|frame-lat=35.197|frame-long=-114.350|zoom=9|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Arizona State Route 68}}}}
|map_custom=yes
|map_notes=SR 68 highlighted in red
|length_mi=27.88
|established=1941
|direction_a=West
|terminus_a={{jct|state=AZ|AZ|95}} in Bullhead City
|direction_b=East
|terminus_b={{jct|state=AZ|US|93}} in Golden Valley
|previous_type=SR
|previous_route=67
|next_type=SR
|next_route=69
}}
State Route 68, also known as SR 68, is an east–west highway in northwestern Arizona running from its western terminus at its junction with State Route 95 in Bullhead City to a grade-separated interchange at U.S. Route 93 in Golden Valley. The western terminus formerly extended just to the west of its current point to Davis Dam; this became Mohave County Road 68 in 1998.
Route description
File:Arizona State Route 68, near Laughlin, Nevada (2639399351).jpg
The primary purpose of this route is to carry traffic to Bullhead City and Laughlin, Nevada. Since September 11, 2001, the highway had also composed part of the mandatory detour for trucks and recreational vehicles traveling between Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada via US 93, due to the heavy vehicle restrictions over Hoover Dam. The detour was temporary and was removed in 2010, when the new bypass was completed south of the dam .
History
SR 68 was a two-lane highway and had a high grade going through the Black Mountains. The highway was expanded to four lanes in the mid-1990s and now has a smoother ride through the mountains. There are two runaway truck ramps at six and ten miles westwards downhill from Union Pass.{{cite web |title=State Route 68 |url=https://www.kiewit.com/projects/transportation/roads/state-route-68/ |website=www.kiewit.com}}
Beginning with 2015 model year vehicles, SAE standard J2807 standardizes the setting of maximum trailer towing capacities. Among many other subtests, it requires an uphill (eastbound) pull on AZ-68 from near the Davis Dam at {{cvt|550|ft|m}} elevation at a minimum temperature of {{cvt|100|F|C}}, driving the {{cvt|11.4|mi|km}} at a minimum of {{cvt|40|mph|kph}} up the 7 percent grade (average 5%) to Union Pass at {{cvt| 3570|ft|m}} elevation.{{cite web |title=J2807: Performance Requirements for Determining Tow-Vehicle Gross Combination Weight Rating and Trailer Weight Rating |publisher=Society of Automotive Engineers |url=https://www.sae.org/standards/content/j2807_201602/ |website=www.sae.org}}{{cite web |last1=Reed |first1=Trevor |title=SAE J2807 Tow Tests - The Standard |url=http://www.trucktrend.com/how-to/towing/1502-sae-j2807-tow-tests-the-standard/ |website=Truck Trend |publisher=Motor Trend |date=16 January 2015}}{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Bruce W. |title=Know Your Pickup's Weight-Carrying Limits |url=https://www.natda.org/news/know-your-pickups-weight-carrying-limits/ |website=NATDA |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20191006091039/https://www.natda.org/news/know-your-pickups-weight-carrying-limits/ |archive-date=October 6, 2019 |date=2015-12-08}} [https://news.pickuptrucks.com/2015/11/know-your-pickups-weight-carrying-limits.html Alt URL]Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211209/iPhMnj1F-Lc Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20191004000416/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPhMnj1F-Lc Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite AV media| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPhMnj1F-Lc| title = How Much Weight Can Trucks Actually Tow? | website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web |title=SAE J2807 Tow Tests (Overview) |url=https://fifthwheelst.com/SAE-J2807-Tow-Tests.html |website=fifthwheelst.com}}
Junction list
{{jcttop|state=AZ|county=Mohave|length_ref=}}
{{AZint
|location=Bullhead City
|mile=0.00
|road={{jct|state=AZ|SR|95|to2=yes|NV|163|dir2=west|extra=airport|road|Bullhead Parkway|city1=Bullhead City|location2=Needles|location3=Laughlin|location4=Las Vegas}}
|notes=Western terminus; Bullhead Parkway serves Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport; highway continues as SR 95 south}}
{{AZint
|location=Golden Valley
|mile=27.88
|road={{jct|state=AZ|US|93|city1=Kingman|location2=Las Vegas}}
|notes=Interchange; eastern terminus; former US 466; US 93 exit 67}}
{{jctbtm}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Attached KML|display=title,inline}}
- [http://arizonaroads.com/arizona/az68.html SR 68 - Arizona Roads]
{{Authority control}}