[Armybrat]

Yes it is. I-35 is out of the picture to the right.

When the first stage of 35 was constructed in 1957-58 it veered off to the east starting southbound around 1st Street (C. Chavez). That was to avoid building the interstate bridge directly into the steep stone bluff on the south side of the Colorado River across from the foot of East Avenue. The path of least resistance, so to speak.

The second stage of 35’s construction in 1960-61 then filled in the stretch from 1st up to 19th (C. Chavez) to connect with the Interregional highway which had been built first four or five years prior.

As I recall, until 35 was built all the way through, the 1st-19th stretch of old East Avenue was where the main rush hour traffic was concentrated for about 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon due to state employees all keeping the same hours.