John McCain motorcade travels through heart of Phoenix

PHOENIX — A motorcade procession honoring the late John McCain wound through the heart of Phoenix on Thursday morning, the longtime senator from Arizona’s final day in the state he served for more than three decades.

The motorcade, accompanied by Arizona National Guard personnel, carried McCain from the Arizona Capitol, where he was lying in state Wednesday, to North Phoenix Baptist Church for a memorial service.

It left the Capitol downtown at approximately 9:10 a.m. on the following route:

• North on 17th Avenue to westbound Adams Street.
• West on Adams to northbound Interstate 17.
• North on I-17 to eastbound Camelback Road.
• East on Camelback to northbound Central Avenue.
• North on Central to the second driveway at the church (5757 N. Central).

Members of the public lined the streets to bid farewell to the six-term U.S. senator, who died Saturday after a yearlong battle with brain cancer.

The procession pulled into the church parking lot about 35 minutes after it began.

Valley Metro altered its bus and rail service to accommodate the activities. Details can be found here.

About 1,000 seats were made available to the public for the 10 a.m. church service, but tickets are no longer available.

Those with tickets were asked to carpool. The doors opened at 8 a.m., and nobody arriving after 9:30 a.m. was going to be allowed to enter the church.

For those not able to attend, a livestream will be available on McCain’s website.

After the service, the motorcade will take McCain to Goldwater Air National Guard Base at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. There, Arizona Air National Guard members and their families will hold a private ceremony before McCain leaves Arizona for the last time.

The Navy veteran’s flight to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is scheduled to depart at 12:30 p.m.

McCain will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol on Friday, and he’ll be transported to the Washington National Cathedral for a national memorial service Saturday.

On Sunday, a private memorial service will be held at the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis, Maryland, before McCain is laid to rest at the nearby U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery.

KTAR News 92.3 FM will air commercial-free coverage of the Arizona memorial service for Sen. John McCain from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday.

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