U.S. Route 89 in Utah

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U.S. Route 89
Defined by Utah Code §72-4-114, maintained by UDOT
Length:	502.577 mi[1] (808.819 km)
South end:	US 89 towards Flagstaff, AZ
Major junctions:	SR-12 near Panguitch I-70 near Richfield US-189 in Provo I-80 in Salt Lake City SR-39 in Ogden US-91 in Logan
North end:	US-89 towards Montpelier, ID
State Routes in Utah < SR-88 US-89A >
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: U.S. Route 89

In the U.S. state of Utah, U.S. Route 89 is a long north-south state highway through the central part of the state. Between Provo and Brigham City, US-89 serves as a local road, paralleling Interstate 15, but the portions from Arizona north to Provo and Brigham City northeast to Wyoming serve separate corridors. The former provides access to several national parks and Arizona, and the latter connects I-15 with Logan, the state's only Metropolitan Statistical Area not on the Interstate.^[2]

Contents 1 Route description 2 History 3 Major intersections 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Route description

US-89 enters Utah inside the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, about 7 miles (11 km) north of the Glen Canyon Dam, where it crosses the Colorado River near Page, Arizona. After leaving the recreation area and passing the small town of Big Water, the highway curves west through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. US-89 stays near the monument's southern boundary,^[3] crossing the East Clark Bench and The Cockscomb and passing south of the Vermilion Cliffs of the Grand Staircase. At the city of Kanab, US-89 meets the north end of US-89A, an alternate route south into Arizona, and abruptly turns north and begins climbing the staircase. Here the Mt. Carmel Scenic Byway begins; one of the Utah Scenic Byways, it stretches north to SR-12 at Bryce Canyon Junction.^[4] The Vermilion Cliffs are ascended via the canyon carved by Kanab Creek. Near the White Cliffs, US-89 meets SR-9 at Mt. Carmel Junction, where travelers can turn to reach Zion National Park. The final "step" is the Pink Cliffs, where the highway follows alongside the Virgin River to the highest point on US-89 in southern Utah and the east end of SR-14, a summit at Long Valley Junction (elevation 7450 feet/2300 m).^[5]

North from Long Valley Junction, US-89 descends through the valley of the Sevier River, meeting SR-12, a scenic highway that leads to Bryce Canyon National Park, at Bryce Canyon Junction, SR-143 in Panguitch, and SR-20 at Bear Valley Junction. As the highway continues north, the valley narrows significantly into the Circleville Canyon before opening out near the town of Circleville. In this part of the valley, the Sevier River is dammed to create the Piute Reservoir, and US-89 meets SR-62 near Kingston. North of Marysvale, the valley again narrows into the Sevier Canyon, which carries the river to its confluence with Clear Creek and US-89 to its overlap with Interstate 70, beginning at Sevier.^[5]

Although US-89 follows the I-70 freeway from Sevier to Salina, the old alignment can still be driven, and is state-maintained north of Elsinore as SR-258, SR-118 (which overlaps I-70 Business through Richfield), SR-24, and US-50. Both highways stay mainly in the west half of the Sevier River's valley, with the faster I-70/US-89 bypassing the communities that the surface road passes through. Just south of Salina, I-70 curves to the east, rising alongside Salina Creek, and US-89 exits into downtown Salina, where it rejoins its pre-freeway alignment. US-50 overlaps US-89 between I-70 and Salina, following I-70 east and a separate alignment northwest from the area; the short Interstate 70 Business also uses this roadway as a business spur from I-70 to the city. North of Salina, US-89 bypasses Redmond (SR-256 follows the former route through the town) and passes through Centerfield to Gunnison, where it meets SR-28 and finally turns away from the Sevier River.^[5]

At Gunnison, US-89 turns east before curving northeast into the Sanpete Valley, formed by the San Pitch River, a tributary of the Sevier River. Along US-89 in this valley are several small cities: Manti, Ephraim, Mount Pleasant, and Fairview. Between Ephraim and Mount Pleasant, US-89 meets the south end of SR-132 at Pigeon Hollow Junction. SR-132 was formerly US-189, connecting US-89 with US-91 in Nephi. Beyond Fairview, where the scenic SR-31 turns east, US-89 climbs out of the valley, reaching a summit at Hill Top (elevation 6400 feet/2000 m). Thistle Creek parallels the next leg of the highway, descending through a canyon to the junction with US-6 near the ghost town of Thistle, flooded by a landslide in 1983. Thistle Creek and Soldier Creek, paralleled by US-89 and US-6, merge near this junction to form Spanish Fork, which the overlapped routes follow northwest through Spanish Fork Canyon into the Utah Valley at Moark Junction. US-89 splits to the north from US-6 there, skirts the west edge of Mapleton, and merges with SR-51 - the old Arrowhead Trail (US-91) - south of downtown Springville.^[5]

From Springville north to Salt Lake City, US-89 parallels—and for a distance overlaps—Interstate 15, following the old Arrowhead Trail, once the main highway from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, through a number of downtowns. Numerous state highways connect US-89 to I-15, including SR-77 in Springville, SR-114 in Provo, SR-52 in Orem, SR-180 and SR-145 in American Fork, and SR-73 in Lehi. In Provo, US-89 meets US-189, its only branch, which heads northeast through Provo Canyon to Heber City, connecting to I-80 and bypassing Salt Lake City. North of Lehi, US-89 merges with I-15 (at exit 282), which has been built on or near the old road through a gap in the Traverse Mountains (elevation 4800 feet/1500 m) into the Salt Lake Valley. The routes split in Draper, formerly with a direct interchange north of SR-71, but US-89 traffic must now exit at SR-71 (exit 291), turn east to Factory Outlet Drive, and follow this frontage road to the location of the former split. From here all the way to downtown Salt Lake City, US-89 is marked along State Street, a major north-south street that lies along 100 East in the city's grid plan and ends at the Utah State Capitol. After passing through Sandy, Midvale, Murray, and South Salt Lake, State Street enters Salt Lake City at the intersection with SR-201 (2100 South). Until 2007, US-89 followed State Street to North Temple (100 North), two blocks from the capitol, but now it turns at 400 South, following the former alignment of SR-186 west and north on 300 West, and rejoining its pre-2007 route at North Temple. As it leaves downtown, 300 West curves northwesterly and becomes Beck Street.^[5]

US-89 leaves Salt Lake City at exit 312 of I-15, where it acts as I-15's frontage roads. Just south of I-15's junction with I-215, US-89 splits to the northeast, passing through Bountiful and Woods Cross. A northerly curve onto 500 West removes the highway from Bountiful's Main Street, and it merges with I-15 at exit 317 to bypass Centerville and Farmington, where the old road is SR-106, through the narrow strip of land that separates Farmington Bay from the Wasatch Mountains. US-89 leaves I-15 at exit 324, where the under-construction Legacy Parkway will end, and proceeds north on a freeway. This portion of US-89 is the only one to include exit numbers based on its own mileage, as opposed to the overlapping I-15 or I-70. The freeway ends after US-89 crosses SR-273, its former surface alignment to the south (and of US-91 in both directions), and heads north as a four-lane road along the Wasatch foothills, to the east of Layton and Hill Air Force Base. After crossing I-84 in Uintah, US-89 enters Ogden, which it traverses via Washington Boulevard, rejoining old US-91 (now SR-26) south of downtown. Beyond Ogden, US-89 continues in a general northerly direction along the thin strip between Willard Bay and the Wasatch Mountains to Brigham City, where it finally turns east away from the I-15 corridor.^[5]

US-89 meets the current alignment of US-91 in the southern outskirts of Brigham City, turning east for an overlap on the city's southeast bypass. (SR-13 and SR-90 are the former alignment through Brigham City.) The two routes head east up Box Elder Canyon in the southern Wellsville Mountains, finally leaving the valley of the Great Salt Lake into a small valley that contains Mantua Reservoir (elevation 5200 feet/1600 m). US-89/US-91 turns north there, bypassing the town of Mantua to the west, and continues to ascend to Sardine Summit (elevation 5900 feet/1800 m). Another small valley leads to Wellsville Canyon, where the four-lane roadway again turns east and descends into the Cache Valley. In that valley, US-89/US-91 heads northeast, bypassing Wellsville to the east, into downtown Logan. US-91 continues northerly from Logan into Idaho, but US-89 splits to the east, beginning a long climb of the Bear River Range through Logan Canyon. The Logan Canyon Scenic Byway, a Utah and National Scenic Byway, begins at Logan and follows US-89 to Garden City (Utah's definition continues to the state line).^[6][4] Bear Lake Summit (elevation 7800 feet/2400 m), at the top of the range, is the highest point on US-89 in Utah, from which it descends the east slope via horseshoe curves to Garden City on the shore of Bear Lake (elevation 5900 feet/1800 m). The final segment of US-89 to the Idaho state line follows the lake's west shore, its location constrained by the Bear River Range just to the west.^[5]

[edit] History

When US-89 was created in 1926, it only went as far north as Spanish Fork, where travelers could continue to Salt Lake City via US-91.^[7][8] The highway was extended north to the Canadian border near Glacier National Park in the mid-1930s,^[9][10][11] though a dispute between Utah and Idaho on the one side and Wyoming on the other was not settled until 1938. The American Association of State Highway Officials decided in favor of Utah and Idaho, placing US-89 on or near US-91 between Spanish Fork and Logan, where it split northeasterly to Yellowstone National Park. (US-89 only left US-91 twice: between Farmington and Ogden, where it still travels today, and via an all-weather route from Brigham City into the Cache Valley, now SR-38 and SR-30.^[12]) Wyoming's preferred routing, which left US-91 at Provo, instead became US-189.^[13] Beginning in the 1950s, Interstate 15 was constructed, replacing US-91 for through traffic south of Brigham City, and leading to that route's truncation there in 1974.^[14] On the other hand, US-89 follows independent corridors south of Spanish Fork and north of Logan. It has not been truncated, and mostly follows US-91's final alignment, except between Farmington and Ogden (where old US-91 is now I-15, SR-126, and SR-26).

The southern part of US-89, running northerly from Kanab, mostly follows a succession of linear valleys. The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad opened a branch (later the Marysvale Branch) from its main line at Thistle to Manti in 1890, and extended it (through a subsidiary, the Sevier Railway), to Salina in 1891, Belknap in 1896, and Marysvale in 1900.^[15] No rail line ever reached farther south,^[16] and so residents of towns such as Junction, Panguitch, Alton, Glendale, and Kanab had to travel north to the railhead at Marysvale. The old county road through Circleville Canyon was poorly constructed, with steep grades and a rough surface.^[17] The State Road Commission designated the highway from Nephi east through Salt Creek Canyon and then south through these valleys to Kanab as a state road in or soon after 1910.^[18] Initially the route from the summit at Long Valley Junction to Kanab went through Alton and Johnson Canyon, entering Kanab from the east. A more direct route via Long Valley was considered, serving the communities of Glendale, Orderville, and Mt. Carmel, but this would have required difficult construction over a mesa covered in loose sand to reach Kanab. In summer 1912, the commission added a branch from Long Valley Junction to Mt. Carmel, allowing these communities access to the state road system, along with a connection west from the junction to Cedar City.^[17] Several years later, in December 1915, the commission added the Mt. Carmel-Kanab road over the sand hills to the system, and began construction of a sand-clay road in 1916.^[19] A connection from Pigeon Hollow Junction north to Thistle was also added in 1912, following the rail line through a canyon and providing another route to Salt Lake City.^[20]

In 1919, the state legislature redefined the state road system to include only a short list given in the law and any federal aid projects. The entire route from Kanab north was kept, including both approaches to Kanab and the two roads to Nephi and Thistle. In addition, a short extension from Kanab south to Arizona was added.^[21] An amendment in 1923 removed most of the original route through Johnson Canyon, but added a second route to Alton from the west, effectively forming a large triangular loop through that town.^[22] (The old route from Alton south to Kanab would be re-added to the state road system in 1933 as SR-136.^[23]) In the early 1920s, the State Road Commission assigned numbers to several major state roads; the route from Arizona northerly through Kanab and Richfield to Nephi became State Route 11.^[24][25] The numbers were officially adopted by the legislature in 1927, with both the main route and the loop through Alton being defined as SR-11; a new State Route 32 followed the branch to Thistle.^[26] The Alton loop was removed from SR-11 in 1941, with the south half remaining in the system as part of SR-136.^[27] Despite these designations, the majority of SR-11 and all of SR-32 were instead marked as US-89, with the remainder of SR-11 between Pigeon Hollow Junction and Nephi marked as US-189 from about 1930 until 1938.^{[7][8][28][11]}

[edit] Major intersections

County	Location	Mile[1]	#	Destinations	Notes
Kane		0.000	Arizona state line
		17.689		Cottonwood Canyon Road
		54.629		Johnson Canyon Road	Former SR-136
	Kanab	63.832		US-89A south (100 East) – Fredonia, Jacob Lake, Grand Canyon
	Mt. Carmel Junction	81.211		SR-9 west – Zion National Park, Hurricane
		98.993		Johnson Canyon Road	Former SR-136
	Long Valley Junction	103.684		SR-14 west – Duck Creek, Cedar City
Garfield	Bryce Canyon Junction	124.227		SR-12 east – Bryce Canyon National Park, Tropic
	Panguitch	131.088		SR-143 (Main Street)
	Bear Valley Junction	141.104		SR-20
Piute		162.382		SR-62
	Junction	164.282		SR-153 (Center Street)
Sevier	Sevier	190.830		Sevier Road, Clear Creek Canyon Road	Former SR-4
		191.740		I-70 west	South end of I-70 overlap
	Joseph	194	25	SR-118 – Joseph, Monroe
	Elsinore	200	31	Elsinore, Monroe (SR-258)
	Richfield	206	37	I-70 Bus. east (SR-120) – Richfield
		209	40	I-70 Bus. west (SR-120) – Richfield
	Sigurd	217	48	To SR-24 (via SR-259) – Sigurd, Aurora
	Salina	225.362		I-70 east / US-50 – Green River	North end of I-70 overlap; south end of US-50/I-70 Bus. overlap
		227.117		US-50 west (Main Street) to SR-24 – Scipio, Delta	North end of US-50/I-70 Bus. overlap
		228.225		SR-256
Sanpete		233.460		SR-256
	Gunnison	240.195		SR-137 (600 South)
		241.434		SR-28 (Main Street)
		247.806		SR-137
	Ephraim	262.180		400 South	Former SR-29
		262.668		SR-290 (Center Street)
		262.794		SR-290 (100 North)
	Pigeon Hollow Junction	267.346		SR-132
		271.892		SR-117
		276.346		SR-117
	Mount Pleasant	277.868		SR-116 (Main Street)
	Fairview	284.131		SR-31 (400 North)
Utah		312.784		US-6 east – Price	South end of US-6 overlap
	Moark Junction	322.276		US-6 west to I-15 – Spanish Fork, Provo, Salt Lake	North end of US-6 overlap
	Mapleton	324.711		SR-147 (1600 South)
		325.719		SR-147 (Maple Street) – Mapleton City Center
	Springville	327.694		SR-51	Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
		328.068		SR-77 (400 South) to I-15
		329.778		SR-75 (1400 North) to I-15
	Provo	334.108		US-189 (University Avenue) to I-15
		334.855		SR-114 (Center Street) to I-15
	Orem	337.878		SR-265 (University Parkway) to I-15
		339.625		Center Street	Former SR-78
		340.167		400 North	Former SR-247
		340.707		SR-52 (800 North) to I-15
	Pleasant Grove	344.559		SR-146 (100 East)
		344.676		SR-114 (Main Street)	Former SR-233
		345.436		To I-15 / Pleasant Grove Boulevard, Center Street	Former SR-233
	American Fork	347.360		SR-180 (500 East) to I-15
		347.971		SR-74 (100 East)
		348.811		SR-145
	Lehi	350.056		SR-73 (Main Street) to I-15
		351.984		SR-197 (500 West)
		352.996		I-15 south – Provo	South end of I-15 overlap
		355	284	SR-92 – Highland, Alpine
Salt Lake	Draper	359	288	SR-140 (14600 South)
		361	289	SR-154 (Bangerter Highway)
		362		I-15 north / SR-71 west (12300 South) – Salt Lake, Riverton	North end of I-15 overlap; south end of SR-71 overlap
		362.150		SR-71 east (12300 South) – Draper	North end of SR-71 overlap
	Sandy	364.420		10600 South
		366.464		SR-209 (9000 South)
	Midvale	368.750		SR-48 (7200 South)
	Murray	369.493		I-215	Interchange
		371.216		SR-173 (5300 South)
		371.793		Vine Street	Former SR-173
		372.491		SR-266 (4500 South)
	South Salt Lake	374.270		SR-171 (3300 South)
		375.559		I-80	Interchange
		376.062		SR-201 (2100 South)
	Salt Lake City
		377.762		900 South	Former SR-176
		378.407		SR-269 (500 South) to I-15 / I-80
		378.552		SR-186 (400 South, State Street)	Former US-89 north
		378.852		SR-270 south (West Temple) to I-15 / I-80
		379.145		To I-15 / I-80 / 300 West, 400 South	Former SR-176
		379.881		North Temple	Former US-89 south, SR-186 west
		380.641		SR-268 (600 North) to I-15
		381.495		SR-186 (Victory Road) – Pioneer Memorial Museum
		383		2300 North	Former SR-249; access across railroad has been closed
		383		I-15 south	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Davis	North Salt Lake	384		I-15 north – Ogden	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		384.879		Orchard Drive	Former SR-255
		386.272		400 East	Former SR-131
		386.801		SR-93 (2600 South) to I-15
	Bountiful, Woods Cross
		387.379		SR-68 north	Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance
		387.773		1500 South	Former SR-131
	Bountiful	388.438		SR-68 (500 South) to I-15
	Bountiful, West Bountiful	389.123		SR-106 (400 North) to I-15 south
		South end of freeway
		389.531		I-15 south	South end of I-15 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Centerville	391	319	Centerville (SR-105)
	Farmington	394	322	SR-227 / Lagoon Drive – Farmington	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		395.586		I-15 north	North end of I-15 overlap; southbound exit is via exit 395
				Legacy Parkway	Under construction; southbound exit and northbound entrance
		396.051	395	SR-225 (Park Lane) – Farmington
		396.746	396	SR-106 (Shepard Lane)
		397.549	397	SR-273 – Fruit Heights, Kaysville, Farmington
	Fruit Heights
		398.695	North end of freeway
		399.705		200 North	Former SR-110
	Layton	401.411		SR-109 (Oakhills Drive)
		404.296	404	SR-193 west – Hill AFB, Clearfield	Interchange
	South Weber	405.729	405	SR-60 (South Weber Drive)	Interchange; former SR-49A
Weber	Uintah	406.434		I-84 – Morgan, Evanston, Cheyenne, Riverdale	Interchange
	South Ogden	408.379		SR-203 (Harrison Boulevard)
		410.256		Adams Avenue Parkway
	Washington Terrace
	South Ogden	412.189		36th Street	Former SR-230
	Ogden
		412.365		SR-26 (Riverdale Road)
		413.052		SR-79 (30th Street)
		413.927		SR-53 (24th Street)
		414.361		21st Street	Former SR-175
		414.508		20th Street	Former SR-182
		415.425		SR-39 (12th Street)
		415.942		7th Street	Former SR-183A
		416.463		SR-235 (Washington Boulevard) / 2nd Street	Former SR-203
	Harrisville	417.408		SR-203 (Wall Avenue)
	Pleasant View	420.292		SR-134 (2700 North)
		422.487		Pleasant View Drive	Former SR-235
Box Elder		423.300		SR-126 to I-15 / I-84 – Salt Lake	Interchange
	Willard	428.771		SR-315 (750 North) to I-15 / I-84
	Brigham City	433.555		US-91 south (1100 South) / SR-13 (Main Street)
		435		SR-90 – Brigham City	Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Mantua	437		Mantua	Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance; former SR-251
		439		Main Street	Former SR-251; access has been closed
Cache	Wellsville	449		SR-23 (Center Street)
		451		SR-101 (Main Street)
	Logan	455		SR-252 (1000 West)
		457		SR-165 (Main Street)
		458		300 South	Former SR-238
		458		SR-30 west (200 North)	South end of SR-30 overlap
		458.970		US-91 north (Main Street)	North end of US-91 overlap
		460.630		1200 East	Former SR-288
		480.896		Tony Grove Road	Former SR-238
		487.023		SR-243
Rich	Garden City	498.512		SR-30 east (Bear Lake Boulevard)	North end of SR-30 overlap
		502.577	Idaho state line

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Utah Scenic Byways: Kanab to Mt Carmel and Long Valley Scenic Byway

U.S. Route 89
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