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Interstate 8 (I-8) is an Interstate Highway in the southwestern United States. It runs from the southern edge of Mission Bay at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in San Diego, California, almost at the Pacific Ocean, to the junction with I-10, just southeast of Casa Grande, Arizona. In California, the freeway travels through the San Diego metropolitan area as the Ocean Beach Freeway and the Mission Valley Freeway before traversing the Cuyamaca Mountains and providing access through the Imperial Valley, including the city of El Centro. Crossing the Colorado River into Arizona, I-8 continues through the city of Yuma across the Sonoran Desert to Casa Grande, in between the cities of Phoenix and Tucson. The first route over the Cuyamaca Mountains was dedicated in 1912, and a plank road served as the first road across the Imperial Valley to Yuma; east of there, the Gila Trail continued east to Gila Bend. These were later replaced by U.S. Route 80 (US 80) across California and part of Arizona, and Arizona State Route 84 (SR 84) between Gila Bend and Casa Grande. The US 80 freeway through San Diego was largely complete by the time it was renumbered as I-8 in the 1964 state highway renumbering; east of San Diego, the US 80 roadway was slowly replaced by I-8 as construction progressed in the Imperial Valley. The Arizona portion of the road was built starting in the 1960s. Several controversies erupted during the construction process; questionable labor practices in Imperial County led to the federal conviction of mobster Jimmy Fratianno, and a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee found that the Arizona government had mismanaged financial resources. The route was completed in 1975 through California, and by 1977 through Arizona, though the bridge over the Colorado River was not completed until 1978. Since then, the freeway through San Diego has been widened due to increasing congestion, and another portion in Imperial County had to be rebuilt following damage by the remnants of Hurricane Kathleen. Route description I-8 is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration. The freeway from the eastern junction with California State Route 98 (SR 98) to the eastern end is designated as part of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail auto tour route, promoted by the National Park Service. San Diego to Arizona border The freeway begins at the intersection of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Nimitz Boulevard in San Diego. For its first few miles, it parallels the San Diego River floodway. Near Old Town San Diego, I-8 intersects with I-5 as well as with Rosecrans Street, the former routing of SR 209. As the freeway enters Mission Valley, it continues eastward, bisecting the area known as "Hotel Circle" that has several hotels. I-8 then has interchanges with SR 163, I-805, and I-15. In La Mesa, the route intersects SR 125, and in El Cajon it intersects with SR 67. From Mission Valley through El Cajon, it is paralleled by the San Diego Trolley Green Line. East of El Cajon, it ascends into the mountains and the Cleveland National Forest, traveling through towns such as Alpine then going by the Viejas Casino before reaching Pine Valley. This route achieves four 4,000-foot (1219.2 meters) high points at Carpenter Summit, then crosses the Pine Valley Creek Bridge before the Laguna Summit, followed by the Crestwood Summit, then the Tecate Divide, After the Laguna Summit, the road passes a U.S. border patrol interior checkpoint that was constructed in 1995 near Buckman Springs Road turnoff just east of the summit. However, this resulted in smugglers driving the wrong way on I-8 at high speeds in order to avoid the checkpoint, causing several crashes, even after concrete barriers were installed. The freeway intersects with SR 79 in the national forest before passing through the La Posta and Campo Indian reservations. In Boulevard, I-8 has an interchange with the eastern end of SR 94.I-8 straddles the San Diego–Imperial county line for a few miles before turning east. At the Mountain Springs/In-Ko-Pah grade, the freeway is routed down two separate canyons—Devils Canyon for westbound traffic and In-Ko-Pah Gorge for eastbound traffic—as it descends 3,000 ft (910 m) in 11 mi (18 km). In places, the median is over 1.5 mi (2.4 km) wide. This portion of the road is known for high winds through the canyons that have made driving difficult, sometimes resulting in closure of the freeway; in 1966, the California Highway Patrol estimated that winds blew at speeds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h). The route enters the Imperial Valley, where it intersects with SR 98, a highway leading to Calexico, and passes near the Desert View Tower. I-8 then goes through Ocotillo and Coyote Wells before entering the city of El Centro several miles later.In El Centro, I-8 intersects with SR 86 and SR 111, both north–south routes which connect to I-10 in the Coachella Valley, north of the Salton Sea. SR 115 and SR 98 end at I-8 east of El Centro. The route also has the lowest above-ground elevation of any Interstate at 52 ft (16 m) below sea level near El Centro. The freeway then traverses the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area and intersects with SR 186 leading south to Baja California Norte, Mexico. I-8 runs parallel to the All-American Canal across the desert for roughly 55 mi (89 km). At points in eastern Imperial County, the Mexican border is less than 0.5 mi (0.80 km) south of the Interstate. I-8 then passes through Felicity and Winterhaven before crossing the Colorado River on a bridge into Yuma, Arizona.I-8 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System from I-5 to the western junction of SR 98, though it is not an official state scenic highway. It is officially known as the Border Friendship Route from San Diego to the Arizona state line. The Interstate is signed as the Ocean Beach Freeway west of I-5. For the entire length within San Diego County and into Imperial County, it is signed as the Kumeyaay Highway, after the local Native American tribe and their traditional trade route which the Interstate follows. Between Old Town and El Cajon, I-8 is called the Mission Valley Freeway. In 2014, I-8 had an annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 11,800 vehicles between Bonds Corner Road and SR 115, as well as between SR 98 and Imperial Highway, and 239,000 vehicles between I-805 and I-15, the latter of which was the highest AADT for the highway in California. Yuma to Casa Grande I-8 enters Arizona from California at the Colorado River bridge at Yuma. It initially heads south through Yuma until the interchange with US 95, where the freeway begins to turn to the east and passes through eastern Yuma and Fortuna Foothills, briefly paralleling US 95 and passing through a second border inspection station. In the Gila Mountains, the east.... Discover the Mark Harritt popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Mark Harritt books.

Best Seller Mark Harritt Books of 2024

  • Entropy Angels synopsis, comments

    Entropy Angels

    Mark Harritt

    It should have been an easy job, money for information, but the fixer’s room temp and Gregor Skotta's on the run with a battle synth and bounty hunters on his trail, corpses piling...

  • The Demon Deception synopsis, comments

    The Demon Deception

    Mark Harritt

    To keep an ancient evil from entering and destroying the world, foes become friends and enemies become allies. Good and Evil, God and Satan, will have to join forces in order to th...

  • The Demon Deception synopsis, comments

    The Demon Deception

    Mark Harritt

    To keep an ancient evil from entering and destroying the world, foes become friends and enemies become allies. Good and Evil, God and Satan, will have to join forces in order to th...