Arizona State Route 143, also known as SR 143 and the Hohokam Expressway, is a north–south and access-controlled freeway in Maricopa County, Arizona, that runs from a junction with Interstate 10 at 48th Street in Phoenix to McDowell Road. The only other major junction along the route is with Loop 202, which is located one half-mile south of McDowell Road and the northern terminus. The road lies directly to the east of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Along with the Sky Harbor Expressway (former SR 153), SR 143's primary purpose is to provide East Valley residents with access to Sky Harbor from westbound Interstate 10 and US 60. This removes the need to travel longer on frequently congested I-10 and avoid the junction with Interstate 17's southern terminus. Route description The Hohokam Expressway begins at an intersection with McDowell Road in Phoenix. The freeway continues southward to an ornately designed junction with the Red Mountain portion of Loop 202. Commuters are then allotted access to Sky Harbor International Airport prior to the Salt River crossing. The southern half of SR 143 begins with the original interchange with University Drive, and then one with Interstate 10 and US 60. After these two interchanges, the freeway ends by transitioning into 48th Street, a surface street. History The Hohokam Expressway has a long history and gestation period. The road was first planned in 1957 as SR 143 as part of the 1960 Phoenix Freeway plan as a collector road for traffic from the east side of Phoenix, as well as a proposed eastern exit from Sky Harbor Airport. The present-day interchange with Interstate 10 was for 48th Street, completed in 1967 as part of the original I-10 freeway construction through the southeast sections of the valley such as the Tempe and Chandler suburbs. The final design was released in 1974, when SR 143 was not yet a freeway, but a parkway with traffic signals and intersections. The design portrayed the new parkway leaving Interstate 10 north along 48th Street corridor, then angling across the Salt River to reach 44th Street where it was planned to end at Washington St. When it opened in 1978, it included the vital eastern access to Sky Harbor Airport, replacing the old 40th Street entrance that was eliminated when 40th Street was demolished to make way for a new airport terminal and runway expansions. The new parkway rapidly