Route History
Route 1 was the inventory number assigned to I-15 prior to the alignment of route numbers with shield numbers in 1978

Route History
Route 2 was the inventory number assigned to I-80 prior to the alignment of route numbers with shield numbers in 1978

Route History
Until 1963, U-3 was assigned to the road which connects Wyoming-89 near Sage southward to Wyo-89 north of Evanston. Today, that route is U-16 and U-30.

Later, Route 3 was the inventory number assigned to I-84 (back then, it was I-80N). It was removed in 1978 when route numbers were aligned with shield numbers.

Route History
Route 4 was the inventory number assigned to I-70 prior to the alignment of route numbers with shield numbers in 1978

At the end of World War II, U-4 was the route assigned to the 33rd South/ 35th South alignment in Salt lake County, going from Magna to the Millcreek Area, along the present route of U-171. In 1948, when US 530 was decommissioned between Kimball Junction and Echo Junction, U-4 extended eastward on an overlay with US 40 to Kimball Junction, and then replaced US 530's routing to Echo. Later, that section became US 189 and, ultimately, I-80.

The designation U-4, appears to have been moved to the I-70 corridor in the mid 1960s.

Route History
Route 5 was the inventory number assigned to I-215 prior to the alignment of route numbers with shield numbers in 1978

US 6 has its own page.

Route History
Route 7 was the inventory number assigned to US 189 prior to the alignment of route numbers with shield numbers in 1978.

Route

• South End: Junction, U-18, at Bluff Street and Sunset Blvd., between St. George and Santa Clara
• North End: Junction U-18

Route Notes

This route was created by the 1998 legislature, and it serves Snow Canyon State Park. Actually, my hypothesis is that the state has bigger plans for this route -- as the first leg of the future St. George Beltway which is in the early planning stages.

Currently, there are only three viable streets in southern Washington County to connect between I-15 on the east and U-18 (Bluff Street) and other points on the west: St George Blvd. (U-34), 100 South and 700 South. Given the topography of the area, (St. George sits in a canyon surrounded by red rock bluffs), it is not practical to place more streets immediately north or south of those existing through streets, so planners have proposed a beltway, approximately 25 miles in circumference, which could help alleviate the area's traffic woes by taking traffic bound for such places as Santa Clara and directing it around central St. George rather than through it (as it must do now). As described, the beltway would connect to I-15 at new interchanges south of Bloomington (exit 4) and north of Washington (exit 10). If the beltway were to become a reality, probably the six mile northern section between I-15 and U-18 would be built first.

By placing the small section of Sunset Blvd., under UDOT jurisdiction, the state now has complete control over the congested intersection of Bluff Street (U-18) and Sunset Blvd (now U-8). A great percentage of the drivers heading north on Bluff Street make a left turn on to Sunset Blvd, seriously impacting the efficiency of the intersection. UDOT is planning to build a flyover ramp for vehicles making this movement, which will alleviate some of the congestion in the area.

Route History
The portion of this route on Sunset Blvd. was formerly US 91. Traffic from the north entered the St. George from the northeast, in the direction of Hurricane, passed through town on St. George Blvd. (now U-34), then left in a northwesterly direction on Bluff Street then Sunset Blvd. (see, even US 91 travellers had to make the annoying left turn described above), on the way to Las Vegas.

Route

• West End: Junction I-15, at exit 17
• East End: US 89. just south of the town of Mt Carmel

• I-15
• Hurricane (pronounced: her'-i-cun)
• La Verkin
• Springdale
• Zion National Park
• Mt Carmel Junction (Jct US 89)

Route Notes
Although the route is listed as 59 miles long, only 43 miles are officially a part of U-9; for 16 miles, the road is within the boundaries of Zion National Park, and is under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. This explains the gap in the legislative description above.

Despite the fact that the road is maintained by the National Park Service through Zion National Park and that the Zion portion is not included in the legislated route, the mileposts on the east end reflect the accumulated mileage from I-15 through Zion.

Route History
Until 1978, this route was numbered U-15, consistent with the old numbering plan which had all of the teen numbers clustered in the southwest corner of the state. Still surviving nearby, are U-14, U-17, and U-18. The number was changed to U-9 to make the legislative route numbers conform to the posted route numbers. Since route 15 was needed for I-15 (which had been inventory route number 1 prior to that), this route had to surrender its number.

Prior to 1970, the westernmost section of the route, from La Verkin to I-15 (and US 91) was a part of U-17.

Prior to World War II, I believe that US 91 was routed on the portion of present-day U-9 between I-15 and the U-17 junction. About 1948, the US 91 shortcut through Leeds was contructed.

Geology and Topography

The route begins at I-15 at 3,300 feet in elevation, cuts eastward and drops to 2,900 near Quail Lake Reservoir. At this point the highway is traversing the Virgin Anticline. Then, it reclimbs, to 3,200 feet in Hurricane, turns north, paralleling the Hurricane Fault for four miles, and arrives back to a near identical elevation whence it began in La Verkin. At the north end of La Verkin, the route is at elevation 3,290 and turns right, crosses the Hurricane Fault beginning a steep ascent. By the time the route gets to Zion National Park, it has climbed to 4,050 feet. There are oil wells north of the town of Virgin, the oldest oilfield in the state.

As the highway proceeds toward Springdale and Zion, it is in the narrowing Virgin River Canyon, and the Chinle Formation of Navajo Sandstone dominates the view to the south.

I have included information about Zion canyon just below.

The steepest climb of the route (Again, since this portion is under NPS administration, it is technically not a part of U-9.) is between the Virgin River bridge (near the visitor center) and the mouth of the tunnel. The road climbs 1,000 feet in under five miles, reaching 5,090 feet, and continues to rise (although more gently) in the tunnel. On the backside, after emerging from the tunnel, the route cuts through more sandstone, including passing picturesque Checkboard Mesa. The elevation of the highway is primarily between 6,000 and 6,100 feet, and it descends to 5,500 feet at Mt Carmel Junction (US 89).

Interesting things along the Route:

• Zion National Park - There are entire websites and tour books devoted to this scenic wonder, so I won't include a long description here. But I will say...it's absolutely spectacular, and you must come here at least once in your life. After Yosemite, it's my favorite place in the world!

  This natural wonder was carved by the Virgin River through Jurrassic-era sandstone. The result today is a collection of towering monoliths in a canyon no more than 2,500 feet wide. The Virgin River is still cutting today, at a rate of about 1 inch per century.

  Due to severe automobile congestion and limited parking in Zion Canyon, the National Park Service banned automobile traffic in the canyon during peak summer months beginning May 24, 2000. Only those with confirmed lodging reservations will be allowed to drive into the canyon. Day-use visitors must park their vehicles at the new visitors center or in Springdale and use the new shuttle bus system into Zion Canyon. Traffic around the visitors center may be heavy, so smart visitors park elsewhere in Springdale and take the free shuttle to the visitors center.

  This restriction does not affect through traffic on U-9 -- it restricts only those planning to go up the canyon beyond the Mt. Carmel road turnoff near the Virgin River bridge. A beautiful new visitors center has been built next to the south entrance to the park, and automobile traffic will be permitted to drive to the visitors center and the nearby campgrounds.

  Frank Moffett, proprietor of Toaquim's Village, the gift shop inside the Zion Canyon Giant Screen Theatre, (located just outside the park, but connected to the new visitors center via a footbridge) has been kind enough to supply me with the latest information (May 2000) on the new restrictions and park upgrades. He reports that one of the campgrounds has been reduced in size to accomodate the new visitors center.

  The NPS operates two shuttle loops: one serving the scenic points and trailheads in the canyon and one through the town of Springdale, with both meeting in the parking lot near the visitors center.
  

  Some websites on Zion National Park:

  • National Park Service
  • Scenic Drives in Zion by GORP (Great Outdoors Recreastion Pages)
  • Road Trip America
  • InfoWest Commercial Site.
  • TravelWest Commercial Site. Some information appears to be out of date. For example, this site says the park entrance fee is $5.00, but it has been $10.00 since March 1997.

• Zion Tunnel- bored out in the 1930s, the tunnel is over 6,000 feet long, and is not lighted! It was not constructed to accomodate the large vehicles (especially RVs) of today, so one-way traffic is maintained. Park rangers hold traffic at one end while traffic enters from the other end, then reverse the procedure. The wait is never more than 15-20 minutes, and you do have great scenery to look at while you wait. The park rangers are usually only posted during daylight hours and operate a more limited schedule during the winter, so large vehicles needing an escort during off-hours are charged a fee. See this website for more details on large vehicle restrictions.

• Zion Canyon Giant Screen Theatre - Located just outside of the park on the east side of the road (on the right-hand side as one drives into Zion). You can easily see the theatre from the south entrance station. The Zion theatre is a commercial enterprise, and they are not associated with the National Park Service.

Junction List:

Route

• South End: Junction I-70, at exit 89
• North End: In downtown Price -- the route does not end at US 6.

• I-70
• Castle Dale
• US 6/191 in Price
• U-55 in Price

The northern end of U-10 is here at the corner of 100 North and Carbon in downtown Price. While many maps seem to indicate that the northern end of U-10 is at the US 6/191 super-two freeway, the route actually continues north for nearly a mile to old US 6, now called U-55. In fact, even the signage along the freeway says "{U-10} SOUTH", ignoring the fact that the route continues north into central Price.

Route

• South End: Arizona State Line near Freedonia, connecting to US 89A in Arizona
• North End: At US 89 in Kanab

• Kanab

Originally, route 11 was assigned to the road between US 91 in Nephi and US 89 near Ephraim. That road became U-132 in 1969.

Route Notes
UDOT's current decisions to emphasize "Route 11" and downplay the role it plays in completing Alternate 89, leaves the remainder of Alternate 89 in Arizona dangling. It never quite completes its role as an alternate because, technically, it never returns to its parent route.

On this writer's first trip down there, in 1993, the route was posted in Utah as US 89-ALT with Route 11 being a sort of "secret" indentity used only by the maintenance people. However, in the ensuing years, UDOT changed policies so the route is now marked with its true legislative number, U-11. There are signs in Kanab, at the junction with US 89, indicating that motorists should use U-11 to reach US 89A. Route Overlays
Shown on most maps as US 89-ALT, and it connects with US 89A in Arizona

Links

• Arizona US 89A by Alan Hamilton

Junction List:

In the summer, while Daylight Savings Time is in effect, clocks in Arizona are one hour earlier than in Utah; otherwise the time is the same on both sides.

Route

• West End: Junction US 89 south of Panguitch
• North End: Junction U-24 near Torrey

• Ruby's Junction (U-63 to Bryce Canyon National Park)

Interesting things along the Route:

• Bryce Canyon National Park - see the description under U-63.

• Scenic Byway - The entire route is a designated national forest scenic byway.

• Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument - Created by President Bill Clinton in late September 1996, this monument, the bane of county commissions in Kane and Garfield counties, may yet prove to be a boon for those two counties.

  President Clinton, in the heat of an election battle, and looking to shore up environmental credentials with activist Democrats in California, dusted off a century-old statute, the Antiquities Act, and unilaterally proclaimed a large chunk of southern Utah as National Monument. Oh yeah, the President made this historic announcement, so important to Utah, from Arizona. In 1992, Utah was the only state where Clinton had finished third (behind both Bush and Perot), so Clinton figured Utah was a safe place to bully while wooing voters in other states -- he wasn't going to carry Utah anyway.

  The governor, the state's congressional delegation, administrators of school trust lands which now lay within the monument, and local officials all cried foul -- but to no avail. Clinton had outfoxed them. Using the powers granted to him under the 1912 Antiquities Act, the executive could declare a monument, without Congressional consent, if it were necessary to halt some impending environmental calamity. Noting that the Kaiporits Plateau, east of Kanab, was being explored for coal mining, Clinton claimed that he had to act quickly to stop it, and he did.

  Interestingly, three years of hindisght can change a lot of minds. Local elected officials who had been poised to sue to undo Clinton's work, are now instead planning for the increased tourist traffic that has already begun to come their way. At this point, the monument is nothing more than a shaded area on the map of Utah, with no developed visitors facilities, and already tourism is way up, simpley because of the shaded area on the map.

  The July 1999 issue of National Geographic featured the Grand Staircase-Escalante with a wonderfully illustrated feature article.

Route 12 Links
Highway 12 Scenic Byway by Max Bertola

Junction List:

Route

• South End: At the junction where US 89 joins US 91 on the south side of Brigham City
• North End: I-15, at exit 397

• Brigham City
• Corinne
• Tremonton

Route Notes
To see a couple vestiges of old US 30S/191, drive the six miles of this route between Brigham City and Corinne. Just west of the point where the highway intersects with U-38 and turns west, you'll pass under the Union Pacific tracks through a '50s era subway. A couple more miles west, after passing I-15, the highway crosses over the Bear River; look just to the south to see the abandoned bridge Depression era crossing.

Route History
This route was originally a part of US 191. US 191 began at US 89/91/30S at the same location where U-13 begins today. US 30S shared this route up through Tremonton, where it split off westward toward Snowville. This US 191 alignment was decommissioned in 1972 as I-15 was largely completed (although I-15 was temporarily routed on the section of U-13 between I-84 and just north of the Plymouth interchange until 1987).

Route 13 was originally assigned to the roadway between US 91 at Cove Fort and US 89 south of Richfield. That designation was removed in 1963 when the plans for I-70 were drawn and I-70's entire route was given the secret route designation of U-4. Today I-70 is legislative route 70, and U-4 has been retired.

Interesting things along the Route:

• Corinne - This sleepy town at the east end of the route, was once the Den of Iniquity of the Utah Territory. Founded by the Union Pacific as a town free of the Mormon sphere of influence, Corinne boasted saloons and taverns and other vices that were difficult to find in other towns in Utah. Mormon bishops counseled their wards to avoid Corinne, which was once one of the largest communities in the state.

  Today the the town is a shell of its former self, with no apparent commercial activity.

  Significant Cities and Junctions:

As recently as the late 1980s, I-15 traffic was routed along U-13 in this area, and this four-way stop was in place at that time. U-13 was signed asd TEMPORARY 15, and all interstate traffic had to stop, making this corner perhaps the past place that a stop sign existed along an interstate.

Route

• West End: Business 15 (aka U-130) in downtown Cedar City. The route continues westward as U-56.
• East End: Junction US 89 in northern Kane County

• Cedar City

Interstate 15 has its own page.

Route History
Originally route 15 was assigned to the road through Zion National park, which is now U-9. The number was changed in 1978, so that route number 15 could be used for I-15, as Utah changed its numbering to eliminate inventory route numbers, and ensure that statutory route numbers coincided with posted route numbers.

Until 1970, U-15's western terminus was at the junction with U-17 in La Verkin. At that time, U-17 was truncated at La Verkin, and U-15 was pushed westward through Hurricane to I-15, just as U-9 does today.

Route

• South End: Wyoming State Line, connecting with Wyo-89 north of Evanston, Wyoming.
• North End: Junction U-30 five miles west of Wyoming-Utah state line.

Despite the route's role as a missing link in the Wyoming state highway system, it also serves Utah. First, the aforementioned route 89 in Western Wyoming, which makes use of all of U-16, is the shortest route between Salt Lake City and Yellowstone National Park. Second, U-16 is the primary state highway serving Rich County in the isoloated northeastern corner of the state. In fact, the Rich County Courthouse lies right along U-16 in Randolph, the county seat.

Significant Cities and Junctions:

• Wyo-89, at Utah/Wyoming state line, north of Evanston, Wyoming
• U-39, in Woodruff
• U-30, southeast of Bear Lake

Route History
The 1963 state highway map shows that U-16 was posted on the route from Wyoming-89 near Sage to Wyo-89 north of Evanston. Prior to that, that route had been U-3. In 1967, the five-mile portion between Sage Creek Junction and the near Wyoming state line was numbered U-51, and U-16 instead went north to US 89 at Garden City. That routing was short-lived, and the next year, U-30 took it present routing from Garden City to Wyo-89 near Sage, and U-16 was truncated to its current end.

U-16 was originally assigned to a road in Washington County which ran along present-day Smithsonian Butte Road at Big Plain Junction northward to Rockville along the Virgin River. That number disappeared from the state highway map by 1934.

Significant Cities and Junctions:

Route

• South End: Junction U-9 at La Verkin
• North End: I-15, at exit 27

Significant Cities and Junctions:

• La Verkin

Route

• South End: I-15, at exit 6
• North End: Junction U-56

Route History
Although this route currently ends at U-56, some map research indicates that this route may have continued northward to the town of Beryl in the mid 20th Century. More research is needed to determine the date when the northern section was decommissioned.

Also, a one mile section of this route was once a part of US 91: the portion between St George Blvd (present-day U-34) and Sunset Drivew (current U-8), was utilized in the routing of US 91 before the freeway was built through the Virgin River Gorge in Arizona. Interestingly, vehicles headed southbound on US 91 toward Las Vegas left St George by heading north, and vice-versa. When the interstate was built in the late 1960s, it provided a more direct routing between St George and Littlefield, Arizona, eliminating the more circuitous routing of the old highway.

Route Notes
The southern half of the I-15 business loop through St. George is routed on U-18 along Bluff Street. BL 15 turns eastward off of U-18 at St. George Blvd.

Local insurance magnate and State Senator Dixie Leavitt (R-Cedar City), who also happens to be Governor Mike Leavitt's dad, sponsored legislation in 1996 which designated a portion of this route as the "Legacy Loop Highway."

His intent was to spur tourism through the area west of I-15 between Cedar City and St. George, by encouraging visitors to choose the Legacy Loop instead of I-15. So far, according to an article in the Deseret News, his proposal has been less than successful, mostly because there is no signage designating the route as the "Legacy Loop Route." (July 31, 1998) Also, the route is neither shorter nor quicker than I-15.

For the record, the Legacy Loop runs from St. George on U-18 to U-56 at Beryl Junction, then westward into Cedar City. The Legacy Loop is found in the Utah Code at §72-4-202.

72-4-202. Legacy Loop Highway. (1) There is established the Legacy Loop Highway comprising the existing highway from Route 15 south of St. George, northerly on Route 18 to Route 56 at Beryl Junction, then easterly on Route 56 to Route 130 in Cedar City, and then northeasterly on Route 130 and county routes 1788 and 1786 to Route 143 in Parowan. (2) The Department of Transportation shall designate the portions of the highways identified in Subsection (1) as the Legacy Loop Highway on all future state highway maps.

Junction List:

Two other noteworthy transitions occur here: First, Business Loop 15 turns eastward, following U-34 back to I-15 after having shared routing with U-18 northward from the freeway, and second, U-18 joins ther route of old US 91. From here, for the next mile or so, northbound U-18 follows the path once used by southbound US 91 to leave St George.

Use U-8 to access Snow Canyon State Park.

Some map research indicates that U-18 once continued northward to the town of Beryl.

Route

• West End: I-70 exit 158
• East End: I-70 exit 162

Significant Cities and Junctions:

• Green River

Prior to 1970, U-19 was assigned to a road which runs from Cedar City northwestward to Lund in Iron County -- that road is no longer a part of the state highway system.

Route Notes

• Green River is one of only two cities in Utah whose corporate limits lie in more than one county. (The other is Draper, a city in Salt Lake County, which incorporated a small chunk of land over the hill in Utah County back in the mid 1980s.) Green River is divided by its namesake, the Green River, which also marks the county line between Emery and Grand counties. Most of Green River's residents live on the western side of the river, in Emery County. But most of Green River's businesses, those which serve I-70 traffic, are located on the east side of the river, in Grand County. And that's the rub: Most of Green River's revenue producing tax base is in a different county than the majority of Green River's residents.

  In Utah, as is typical in most states, property taxes from commercial property provide the revenue needed by local government to provide municipal services, as residential property taxes are not high enough to sustain the level of service that voters tend to demand. Property taxes are collected by the county, and then doled out to local governments based upon population. So, Grand County collects property tax (and sales tax) on the businesses located in the eastern part of the city of Green River, and then distributes its collections. But, since Green River has a miniscule population within Grand County, it gets very little of the tax revenue which was generated within its own borders!

  Grand County is unwilling to part with this cash cow and allow Emery County to absorb the portion of Green River which lies east of the river. Two successive state legislatures have wrestled with the Green River problem and failed to resolve it (one solution was thrown out by the state Supreme Court). So, at least for now, Green River remains a city divided. Enjoy both halves of Green River as you drive through on U-19!

  Links

  • Canonical List of Business Loops by Andy Field

Route

• West End: I-15, at exit 95
• East End: Junction US 89, 10 miles north of Panguitch

Significant Cities and Junctions:

• There are no population centers of any consequence anywhere on this route. The role of this route is to funnel I-15 traffic bound for Bryce Canyon and Grand Staircase over to US 89.

Junction List: