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The Phoenix metropolitan area, sometimes referred to locally as the Valley of the Sun, is a metropolitan area that includes the City of Phoenix, all of the rest of Maricopa County and Pinal County, Arizona. The population of the Phoenix metropolitan area increased by 45% from 1990 through 2000, compared to the average United States rate of 15%, helping to make Arizona the second fastest growing state in the nation in the 1990s (the fastest was Nevada). The 2000 Census reported the population of the metro area to be 3,251,876. The Phoenix metro area had an estimated total population of 3,907,429 at the beginning of 2006.
100,000 or more inhabitants 10,000 or more inhabitants Less than 10,000 inhabitants Over 10,000 inhabitants Under 10,000 inhabitants Unknown Population Demographics Freeways and highways The Phoenix Metropolitan Area is served by several controlled-access freeways, including Interstates 10, 17, and 8, the US 60, and Arizona State Routes 101, 202, 303, and 51. Many new freeways are planned to be built by 2025, either through upgrades of existing roads (including State Routes 85, 303, and parts of the US 60), or through the construction of new freeways where no road existed before (including State Routes 801, the Williams Gateway Freeway, and the remaining parts of 202). Several regular access highways also serve parts of the Valley, including parts of the US 60, and all of State Routes 85, 87 and its associated routes (187, 287, 387, and 587) 74, 88, and others. Arterial roads In the Valley, many of the arterial roads have the same name across city and town borders. However, a common source of confusion is the fact that many roads have different names in different cities or different areas. For example, one east-west arterial is known as Glendale Avenue west of the AZ 51, but as Lincoln Drive to the east of the freeway. Bell Road is known as Frank Lloyd Wright Road in Scottsdale, and this is a frequent source of confusion as there is actually a Bell Road in Scottsdale as well, located nearby, but which does not go through to the Bell Road of Phoenix. This is particularly frustrating for the uninitiated, as Bell Road is the most-travelled arterial in the metro area. Rail An urban light rail system (dubbed the "METRO") is currently under construction. The inital line will run more than 20 miles from suburban Mesa, through Tempe and into Phoenix, traveling through the downtown area, offering access to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and linking two of the four metro area campuses of Arizona State University. Anticipated to open in December, 2008, it is projected to initially accomodate 26,000 boardings a day, or more than 8 million boardings in its first year. Aviation In 2005, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport was the 14th busiest passenger facility in the world and the 8th busiest in America, with more than 41 million passengers using the facility. With three terminal buildings encompassing 120 gates, more than 20 airlines offer daily non-stop flights to destinations throughout the world. Street numbering systems The street numbering system used by the City of Phoenix is shared by most of Maricopa County, with the exception of a few cities in the East Valley such as Mesa, Tempe, Gilbert, Chandler, and Apache Junction. Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, and Apache Junction have their own street numbering systems, while Gilbert uses Mesa's. The center of the system is located at Washington Street (0 N/S) and Central Avenue (0 E/W). Many of the North-South streets are numbered streets; east of Central, main numbered streets are named as " | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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