Interstate 17 Southbound

Let's take a drive on southbound I-17:


I-17 begins at I-40, but don't the exit numbers seem a little bit too high? I'll explain later in this post.









































It's not every day you see rest areas carrying exit numbers, but there's also a scenic view added to the mix.























Loop 303 begins to the west of this interchange; Sonoran Desert Drive begins to the east.









In a perfect world, Loop 101 would probably be I-210, but apparently, Arizona has an aversion to 3dis. In fact, it is one of very few states to not have any 3dis, along with Alaska, New Mexico and (technically) North Dakota.





























I-17 and I-10 meet for the first time at The Stack, which is the largest freeway interchange in Arizona.





Here, I-17 goes through the Durango Curve.







I-17 meets I-10 for the second and final time, at a directional T interchange. As to why the mileposts and exit numbers don't go all the way to 1 or 0, this is a holdover from SR 69's old route. I-17 covers 68 of the former 194 miles on SR 69 and US 89, the latter of which has been truncated to Flagstaff.