As the state’s population continues to increase, many Central Arizonans will be asked to make a simple one-digit change to their addresses’ ZIP Codes starting on Wednesday, July 1, 2009, Postal Service officials announced today.
The new “851” ZIP Code area will cover an area totaling just under 5,000 square miles, from Apache Junction at the north, to Red Rock in the south, Maricopa to the west and Winkelman to the east. (A map showing the area accompanies this news release.)
The change is fairly simple to understand. If your current ZIP Code is 85240, the “2” in the ZIP Code will be replaced with a “1.” Everything else stays the same – so your new ZIP Code starting July 1st will be 85140.
The change is needed to provide expanded capacity as population growth is anticipated to continue in this part of the state, and the Postal Service was on the verge of using up all possible five-digit “852” ZIP Code combinations. Each ZIP Code has a limited capacity of deliveries; making this change now will help USPS employees provide efficient, effective delivery of the mail for many years into the future.
A total of 30 existing five-digit “852” ZIP Codes in Pinal County will become “851” ZIPs on July 1st. Every postal customer in the affected area will receive a written notification of their address’ specific new ZIP Code by May 30. Customers are asked to notify regular correspondents about their new ZIP Code as soon as possible.
In order to assist businesses and others make the transition, including depleting current supplies of stationery, there is a one-year grace period during which both ZIP Codes will be valid for mail delivery to these addresses. Even so, the Postal Service strongly encourages customers to begin using their new ZIP Code starting Wednesday, July 1.
General Boundaries of the New 851 ZIP Code Area:
Northern boundary –
Pinal County boundary at the Sierra Estrella Mountains and the Gila River, east along Hunt Highway, north on Meridian Road to the Tonto National Forest.
Eastern boundary –
Tonto National Forest to Pinto Creek, southeast to San Carlos Lake, south to Aravaipa Wilderness Area.
Southern boundary –
Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness Area and Calle Zapata west to Arizona Hwy 77, northwest to Freeman Rd, south on Marylynne Lane alignment to Pinal Air Park Road alignment, west to Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation.
Western boundary –
Tohono O’odham Indian reservation north to the Sierra Estrella Mountains and the Gila River.
(Please see accompanying .PDF file for a map of this area.)
# # #
An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.
