Wittmann, Arizona

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Wittmann is a small unincorporated community in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 60 in the central part of Arizona, about 35 miles northwest of central Phoenix, and while technically located within the city's metropolitan area it is generally regarded by locals to be just outside of it. Although 2000 US Census figures place 4,174 residents living within the 85361 zip code and thus having a Wittmann address, Wittmann does not have any official or Census designated boundaries, and a large portion of that population resides in other communities and would not readily identify themselves as living in the town. Wittmann is located in an area of rapid growth and the locale has suffered from numerous growing pains. The Nadaburg Elementary School District located in Wittmann, which had long been considered a small, rural school, was forced to construct a larger, modernized school in 2004 to accommodate the influx of students and the district is already planning for a second school nearby. Increased traffic along Highway 60 necessitated a widening of the highway. The highway's location parallel to the BNSF railway unfortunately meant that the widening would claim a number of homes and local businesses, including the only prominent service station between Phoenix and Wickenburg, as well as the community's landmark overpass footbridge servicing the elementary school. Past efforts to incorporate the community failed largely due to opposition from local landowners and thus there has been no real local government or planning agency. The nearby city of Surprise has in recent years annexed much of the land near and around the town, and has included it as part of the city's general plan. This has effectively removed any chance that the town might incorporate at some point in the future, and once the town is annexed by the city of Surprise it will have lost its identity completely.