aviation activity does occur. Most of the land to the south and into Pima County is
privately owned and used primarily for agricultural purposes, with some scattered
residential uses. To the west of the Airpark and SBAH is a parachute training landing
zone. Aircraft that are deployed for parachute drops typically fly out of Pinal Airpark.
Further west is the Santa Cruz River Valley, which provides an important regional wildlife
corridor.
2.6 Transportation
Roadway Network
The primary north‐south road in the Pinal County JLUS Project Area is Interstate 10 (I 10),
which is the main route between the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas. Although
I 10 runs from north to south within the Project Area, it is actually an east‐west route
that traverses the southern United States. Beginning on the West Coast in Santa Monica,
California, I 10 stretches almost 2,500 miles across the southern U.S. to its eastern
terminus in Jacksonville, Florida. Some of the major cities that it connects along its route
are Las Cruces, New Mexico; San Antonio, Texas; Houston, Texas; and Mobile, Alabama.
Interstate 10 is the closest major roadway to Picacho Peak Stagefield and Silverbell Army
Heliport, each of which are just a few miles to the west of it.
Within the northern part of the Project Area, State Route 79 (SR 79) serves as the primary
north‐south road. It stretches almost 60 miles from its northern terminus at US 60 to its
southern terminus at SR 77 and is entirely within Pinal County. It runs roughly parallel to
I 10 and serves as an alternate connection between the Phoenix and Tucson
metropolitan areas. The Town of Florence is the only incorporated community located
along SR 79. The road runs along the western border of Florence Military Reservation
and bisects a small portion of the installation.
Located in the northern part of the Project Area, US 60 is the main east‐west route. This
route’s western terminus is in southwestern Arizona at the census‐designated place of
Brenda and stretches 2,670 miles across the U.S. to its eastern terminus in in Virginia
Beach, Virginia. Some of the communities it connects to are Amarillo, Texas; Frankfort,
Kentucky; Charleston, West Virginia; and Norfolk, Virginia. Within the Project Area, it
connects SR 79 to the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Other key roads in the central portion of the Project Area include Interstate 8, SR 87,
SR 287, and SR 387, which connect Casa Grande, Eloy, Coolidge, and Florence.
The roadway network for the Project Area is shown on Figure 2‐9.
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Community Profiles