{{Short description|State highway in Arizona, United States}} {{Use American English|date=March 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{good article}} {{Infobox road |state=AZ |type=SR |route=347 |maint=ADOT and the City of Maricopa |map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-lat=33.06538|frame-long=-112.02|zoom=9|type=line|from=Arizona State Route 347.map|stroke-width=3}} |map_custom=yes |map_notes=SR&nbsp;347 highlighted in red |length_mi=28.69 |length_round=2 |length_ref=<ref name="ADOT Highway Log">{{ADOT log|year=2013|access-date=December 28, 2014}}</ref> |established=1997 |direction_a=South |terminus_a={{jct|state=AZ|SR|84}} near Stanfield |direction_b=North |terminus_b={{jct|state=AZ|I|10}} near Sun Lakes |junction={{jct|state=AZ|SR|238}} in Maricopa |counties=Pinal, Maricopa |previous_type=Loop |previous_route=303 |next_type=SR |next_route=360 }}

'''State Route 347''' ('''SR 347''') is a {{convert|28.69|mi|km}} long, north&ndash;south state highway in central Arizona. The route begins at SR 84 and heads north. It passes through Maricopa, meeting SR 238. The route ends at an interchange with Interstate 10 (I-10) south of Chandler. It primarily serves as the major road to Maricopa; much of the road lies within the Gila River Indian Community, with another short stretch through the Ak-Chin Indian Community. The road was built in the late 1930s and established as a state highway in the 1990s. Most of it is also known as the '''John Wayne Parkway'''. On average, between 4,000 and 35,000 vehicles use the roadway daily.

==Route description== The route begins at an intersection with SR 84 west of Stanfield.<ref>{{cite map|url=http://www.azdot.gov/mpd/gis/maps/pdf/tbd4.pdf|title=Transportation District 4 Milepost System|publisher=Arizona Department of Transportation|format=PDF|access-date=March 7, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110413001213/http://www.azdot.gov/MPD/gis/maps/pdf/tbd4.pdf| archive-date= 13 April 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> SR 347 then heads northward as John Wayne Parkway, a four-lane expressway, through a desert landscape. After intersecting Meadowview Road and crossing a canal, SR 347 meets Carefree Place, where a farm appears to the west part of the road.<ref name="google"/> At Clayton Road, the east side of the road becomes farmland as well. John Wayne Parkway becomes Maricopa Road at Emerald Road and serves as the southwestern boundary of the Ak-Chin Indian Community between Emerald Road and Peters and Nall Road. At Peters and Nall Road it enters the reservation for 1 mile before become the dividing line at Steen Road between the City of Maricopa to the east and Ak-Chin to the west.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.maricopa-az.gov/web/gponline-general-plan-elements/gponline-a-growthareaelement|title=Planning Maricopa: Growth Area Element|website=City of Maricopa, AZ}}</ref> Harrah's Ak-Chin Casino and Ak-Chin Circle Entertainment Center sit on the southwest corner of BIA Route 14 - also known as Farrell Rd - and John Wayne Parkway within the community.<ref>{{cite map|url=http://www.ak-chin.nsn.us/pdf/acicdirections.pdf|format=PDF|title=Ak-Chin Indian Community Directions|publisher=Ak-Chin Indian Community|access-date=March 7, 2011}}</ref> Route 14 ends at SR 347 but continues west as Farrell Rd within the City of Maricopa. It is also at this point that road changes names back to John Wayne Parkway. The southernmost subdivision in Maricopa - Palo Brea - appears on the east side while the west side is a residential neighborhood on the reservation. Continuing on its northerly path, the road fully enters the City of Maricopa past Palo Brea where another subdivisions appears to the highway's west and the Copper Sky Recreational Complex appears on the east.<ref name="google"/> Past Bowlin road, subdivisions continue to dot the landscape with empty land near the highway zoned for future commercial use. The road then intersects Alterra Parkway/Desert Cedars Drive and Honeycutt Avenue before crossing a Union Pacific Rail Line on an overpass.

North of this overpass, SR 347 continues into the city's Heritage District, where some of the city's oldest homes and properties are located. It first intersects Honeycutt Road before having a partial interchange with Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway. North of the road's intersection with Edison Road, SR 347 enters into a major commercial area where several businesses are located. SR 347 then serves as the eastern terminus for SR 238<ref>{{cite map|url=http://www.azdot.gov/mpd/gis/maps/pdf/section1.pdf|title=2009 ADOT Map Book: Section 1|publisher=Arizona Department of Transportation|format=PDF|access-date=March 7, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110413001113/http://www.azdot.gov/MPD/gis/maps/pdf/section1.pdf| archive-date= 13 April 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> also known as Mobile Road, which continues as Smith-Enke Road, a major east–west corridor for the City of Maricopa. The route then separates two major housing subdivisions before abruptly entering the Gila River Indian Community and empty desert.<ref name="google"/> Here the road drops its John Wayne Parkway name and returns to Maricopa Road. The road turns more northeasterly, and serves as the western terminus for Casa Blanca Road.<ref>{{cite map|url=http://www.gilariver.org/index.php/about-tribe/6-districts/117-gila-river-districts|title=Gila River Districts|publisher=Gila River Indian Community|access-date=March 7, 2011}}</ref> Turning back north and slightly northeast again, the road crosses from Pinal County into Maricopa County.<ref>{{cite map|url=http://www.azdot.gov/mpd/gis/maps/pdf/tbd1.pdf|format=PDF|title=Transportation District 1 Milepost System|publisher=Arizona Department of Transportation|access-date=March 7, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110413001211/http://www.azdot.gov/MPD/gis/maps/pdf/tbd1.pdf| archive-date= 13 April 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> After intersecting Riggs Road, Maricopa Road continues northeast to serve the Wild Horse Pass Casino while SR 347 bends directly east becoming Queen Creek Road. SR 347 ends at a diamond interchange at I-10, Exit 164, while Queen Creek Road continues east through the Gila River Indian Reservation towards the City of Chandler and Chandler Municipal Airport.<ref name="ADOT Highway Log"/><ref name="google">{{google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=2529850674388876838,32.875060,-112.049140%3B7444233191775362588,33.254890,-111.949319&saddr=AZ-347%2FN+John+Wayne+Pkwy%2FS+Maricopa+Rd+%4032.875060,+-112.049140&daddr=W+Queen+Creek+Rd+%4033.254890,+-111.949319&doflg=ptm&jsv=107&sll=33.064975,-111.99938&sspn=0.396479,0.639954&ie=UTF8&z=11 |title=overview map of SR 347 |access-date=2008-04-14}}</ref>

The route is maintained by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), which is responsible for maintaining highways in the state. As part of this role, the department periodically conducts surveys to measure traffic on highways in Arizona. These surveys are most often presented in the form of average annual daily traffic (AADT), which is the number of vehicles that use a highway on any average day during the year. In 2009, ADOT calculated that around 4,500 vehicles used the road daily near the SR 84 intersection and about 33,000 vehicles used the route near the I-10 interchange on an average day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.azdot.gov/mpd/data/Reports/PDF/CurrentAADT.pdf|title=Arizona State Highway Traffic Log|author=Arizona Department of Transportation|format=PDF|access-date=March 7, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110413022509/http://www.azdot.gov/mpd/data/Reports/PDF/CurrentAADT.pdf| archive-date= 13 April 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> A 2018 report said traffic was 31,000 vehicles daily within Maricopa.<ref name=ktar1/> The ADOT Traffic Monitoring Group calculated an Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) of 42,939 cars in 2018 and calculated an AADT estimate of 71,978 cars in 2040 for a portion of this road.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://azdot.gov/sites/default/files/2019/05/2018-AADT-STATE-ROUTES.pdf|title=2018 AADTs (includes K, D and T factors) - State Routes|website=Arizona Department of Transportation}}</ref> In 2012, SR 347 from Farrell Road in Maricopa north to I-10 was added to the National Highway System, a system of roads in the United States important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/nhs_maps/arizona/phoenix-mesa_az.pdf|title=National Highway System : Phoenix--Mesa, AZ|date=October 1, 2020|publisher=Federal Highway Administration}}</ref>

==History== thumb|220x220px|Arizona Route 347 North Marker The section north of Maricopa, toward present day I-10, was built by 1939. It was built upon the old Phoenix-Maricopa Railroad right of way after service was discontinued.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abandonedrails.com/Maricopa_and_Phoenix_Railroad|title=The Maricopa and Phoenix Railroad|website=Abandoned Rails}}</ref> The road headed north toward Tempe to U.S. Route 80.<ref>{{cite map|url=http://www.aaroads.com/west/maps/1939-az.html|title=Road Map of Arizona|date=1939|publisher=Arizona Highway Department|access-date=March 7, 2011|archive-date=June 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603232111/http://www.aaroads.com/west/maps/1939-az.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Between 1951 and 1958, the road was extended south to its current terminus at SR 84; at this time, I-10 had still not been built, nor had the route become a state highway.<ref>{{cite map|url=http://www.aaroads.com/west/maps/1958-az.html|title=Road Map of Arizona|date=1958|publisher=Arizona State Highway Department|cartography=Rand McNally|access-date=March 7, 2011}}</ref> By 1971, I-10 was finished through the south and east edges of the Phoenix area.<ref>{{cite map|url=http://www.aaroads.com/west/maps/1971-az.html|title=Road Map of Arizona|publisher=Arizona State Highway Department|access-date=March 7, 2011|archive-date=June 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110621235036/http://www.aaroads.com/west/maps/1971-az.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1989, ADOT made preparations to establish the number along Maricopa Road and reserved the right-of-way along the parkway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.azhighwaydata.com/resolutions/?syear=1988&eyear=1990&crc=3&rtnum=347&submit1=Submit|title=ADOT Right-of-Way Resolution 1989-04-A-032|author=Arizona Department of Transportation|access-date=March 7, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite map|title=New Deluxe Road Atlas|publisher=H.M. Gousha|year=1993|pages=10&ndash;11|section=G4&ndash;H5|isbn=0-13-616129-4}}<!--|access-date=March 7, 2011--></ref> This may have been because of a controversy over the name of John Wayne Parkway, which the road was dubbed at the time.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-3985561.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105171656/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-3985561.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 5, 2012|title=Tribes, County Clash Over Naming Highway After John Wayne|newspaper=The Ojibwe News|date=June 13, 1997|access-date=March 8, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-64627528.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105171430/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-64627528.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 5, 2012|title=John Wayne Road Name Creates Stir with Indians|newspaper=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|date=June 7, 1997|access-date=March 7, 2011}}</ref> The Gila River Native Americans, whose reservation the parkway ran on, did not want this name, as John Wayne, the actor who formerly owned a ranch in modern Maricopa, had appeared in several movies in which he had killed Native Americans.<ref name="disputedjw">{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-3990888.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105171423/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-3990888.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 5, 2012|title=Disputed John Wayne Parkway Might End up as Arizona 347|newspaper=The Ojibwe News|date=July 4, 1997|access-date=March 7, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-72307847.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105171701/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-72307847.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 5, 2012|title=John Wayne? American Indians? State Solves Road-Name Debate|newspaper=Rocky Mountain News|date=June 28, 1997|access-date=March 8, 2011}}</ref> Maricopa Road was widened from a two-lane to a four-lane expressway in the early 1990s,<ref name="google" /> and was also realigned to use Queen Creek Road to meet I-10. In 1997, the route was officially established as a state highway with its current routing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.azhighwaydata.com/resolutions/pdf/resolutionfull/1997-05-A-031.pdf|title=ADOT Right-of-Way Resolution 1997-05-A-031|author=Arizona Department of Transportation|format=PDF|access-date=March 7, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite map|url=http://www.azhighwaydata.com/resolutions/pdf/resolutionmaps/1997-05-A-031.pdf|title=ADOT Right-of-Way Resolution 1997-05-A-031 Map|publisher=Arizona Department of Transportation|format=PDF|access-date=March 7, 2011}}</ref>

In Maricopa, north of the road's intersection with Alterra Parkway/Desert Cedars Drive, the road previously ran alongside Maricopa High School to the west,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maricopausd.org/index.cfm?pID=2574|title=Maricopa Unified School District Schools|author=Maricopa Unified School District|author-link=Maricopa Unified School District|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227045300/http://maricopausd.org/index.cfm?pID=2574|archive-date=December 27, 2010|url-status=dead|access-date=March 7, 2011}}</ref> having a level crossing of the Union Pacific Railroad, and then having an at-grade intersection with Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway. This railroad crossing caused traffic to stop for passing trains more than sixty times per day. A project to reroute the road slightly east over a new six-lane overpass began in 2018. The city of Maricopa hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new overpass on July 13, 2019, and it was opened to traffic on July 15, 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.maricopa-az.gov/web/overpass-tracker/3669-overpass-update-traffic-to-use-overpass-on-july-15th|title=Overpass Update - Traffic to Use Overpass on July 15th|website=City of Maricopa, AZ}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Overpass Tracker |url=http://www.maricopa-az.gov/web/overpass-tracker |website=City of Maricopa |publisher=City of Maricopa |access-date=July 15, 2019}}</ref> $15 million in funding for the project was by the Federal Government's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program and $14 million by the city of Maricopa, Arizona.<ref name=ktar1>{{cite news|title=Construction on SR 347 bridge over train tracks to begin Monday|url=https://ktar.com/story/1999941/construction-maricopa-sr-347-bridge-over-train-tracks-begins-monday/|access-date=March 24, 2018|work=KTAR.com|date=March 23, 2018}}</ref>

==Major intersections== {{jcttop|length_ref=<ref name="ADOT Highway Log"/>}} {{AZint |county=Pinal |cspan=6 |location=none |mile=0.00 |road={{jct|state=AZ|SR|84|city1=Stanfield|city2=Casa Grande|city3=Gila Bend|city4=Yuma}} |notes=Southern terminus}} {{AZint |type=incomplete |location=Maricopa |lspan=3 |mile=12.58 |road=Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway |notes=Partial interchange; southbound entrance and exit only; northbound access via Honeycutt Road}} {{AZint |mile=13.68 |road={{jct|state=AZ|SR|238|dir1=west|city1=Mobile}} |notes=Eastern terminus of SR 238 }} {{AZint |mile=13.79 |place=North end state maintenance }} {{AZint |location=Gila River Indian Community |lspan=5 |mile=14.77 |place=South end state maintenance }} {{AZint |type=future |mile=21.61 |road=Mammoth Way |notes=Proposed interchange }} {{AZint |county=Maricopa |cspan=3 |type=future |mile=24.41 |road=Riggs Road |notes=Proposed interchange }} {{AZint |mile=28.69 |mspan=2 |road={{jct|state=AZ|I|10|city1=Phoenix|city2=Tucson}} |notes=Northern terminus; I-10 exit 164 }} {{AZint |mile=none |road={{jct|state=AZ|road|Queen Creek Road east|location1=Chandler Municipal Airport}} |notes=Continuation beyond I-10}} {{jctbtm|keys=future}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Attached KML|display=inline, title}} *[https://arizonaroads.com/arizona/az347.html SR 347 at Arizona Roads]

347 Category:Transportation in Pinal County, Arizona Category:Transportation in Maricopa County, Arizona