I-8 is by far the fastest way east from Gila Bend to Tucson and beyond, but if you have the time and inclination to follow the old road, it took the long way around: From Gila Bend US-80 veers north across the usually dry Gila River along what’s now an unmarked county road, then east through the towns of Arlington, Palo Verde, and Buckeye, where a 40-odd-foot statue of “Hobo Joe” stands along Baldy Street downtown. US-80 runs through downtown Phoenix on Van Buren Street (which was also US-60 and US-70), before heading south to Tucson.
Between Phoenix and Tucson, I-10 parallels our US-93 Border to Border road trip route, which runs about 20 miles to the east, along Hwy-79. From Phoenix, the route passes such enticing desert oddities as the famous Biosphere 2, and a memorial to cowboy actor Tom Mix.
