U.S. Route 89 in Utah
Encyclopedia
In the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, U.S. Route 89
U.S. Route 89
U.S. Route 89 is a north–south United States Highway with two sections, and one former section. The southern section runs for 848 miles from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park...

 (US-89) is a long north–south state highway
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

 spanning more than 502 miles (807.889 km) through the central part of the state. Between Provo
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...

 and Brigham City
Brigham City, Utah
Brigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 17,899 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It lies on the western slope of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range at the western terminus of Box Elder Canyon...

, US-89 serves as a local road, paralleling Interstate 15
Interstate 15 in Utah
In the U.S. state of Utah, Interstate 15 runs north–south through the southwestern and central portions of the state, passing through many of the population centers of that state, including St. George, Provo, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, the latter three being part of the urban area known as...

, but the portions from Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 north to Provo and Brigham City northeast to Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

 serve separate corridors. The former provides access to several national parks and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, and the latter connects I-15 with Logan
Logan, Utah
-Layout of the City:Logan's city grid originates from its Main and Center Street block, with Main Street running north and south, and Center east and west. Each block north, east, south, or west of the origin accumulates in additions of 100 , though some streets have non-numeric names...

, the state's only Metropolitan Statistical Area not on the Interstate.

When US-89 was established in the state in 1926, the road initially extended north to US-91
U.S. Route 91
U.S. Route 91 is a north–south United States highway. The highway currently serves as a connection between the Cache Valley area of Utah and Idaho to the Salt Lake and Idaho Falls population centers. Prior the mid-1970s, U.S. 91 was an international commerce route from Long Beach, California...

 in Spanish Fork
Spanish Fork, Utah
Spanish Fork is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 31,497 as of the 2008 census estimate.-History:Spanish Fork was settled by LDS pioneers in 1851...

. Following the extension of the former to the Canadian border, Interstate 15 was constructed roughly paralleling US-89 to the west and replacing US-91 south of Brigham City. During this process, US-89 was rerouted in southern Utah and northern Arizona with the old roadway becoming US-89A.

Arizona border to I-70

US-89 enters Utah from the south inside the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is a recreation and conservation unit of the National Park Service that encompasses the area around Lake Powell and lower Cataract Canyon in Utah and Arizona, covering 1,254,429 acres of mostly desert...

, about 7 miles (11 km) north of the Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona in the United States, just north of Page. The dam was built to provide hydroelectricity and flow regulation from the upper Colorado River Basin to the lower. Its reservoir is called Lake Powell, and is the second...

, where it crosses the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...

 near Page, Arizona
Page, Arizona
Page is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, near the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 6,794.-Geography:Page is located at ....

. After leaving the recreation area and passing the small town of Big Water
Big Water, Utah
Big Water is a town in Kane County, Utah, United States. The population was 417 at the 2000 census, a modest increase over the 1990 figure of 326. It is located 17 miles north of Page, Arizona on US-89 near Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam. It was originally called Glen Canyon City and housed...

, the highway curves west through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument contains 1.9 million acres of land in southern Utah, the United States. There are three main regions: the Grand Staircase, the Kaiparowits Plateau, and the Canyons of the Escalante. President Bill Clinton designated the area as a U.S. National...

. US-89 stays near the monument's southern boundary, crossing the East Clark Bench and The Cockscomb and passing south of the Vermilion Cliffs
Vermilion Cliffs
The Vermilion Cliffs are the second "step" up in the five-step Grand Staircase of the Colorado Plateau. Reddish or vermilion-colored cliffs are found along U.S. Highway 89 and U.S. Highway 89A near Kanab, Utah . They extend from a location near Page, Arizona, west for a considerable distance, in...

 of the Grand Staircase
Grand Staircase
For the similarly named structure on the RMS Titanic, see Grand Staircase of the TitanicFor the stairs in the White House see Grand Staircase ...

. At the city of Kanab, US-89 meets the north end of US-89A, an alternate route
Alternate route
An official alternate route is a special route in the United States that provides an alternate alignment for a highway. They are loop roads and found in many road systems in the United States including the U.S. Route system and various state route systems...

 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
Utah Scenic Byways
The legislature in the U.S. state of Utah has designated a system of Utah Scenic Byways in addition to the National Scenic Byways that are defined within the state. Some of the state designated routes overlap with the federal designations...

, it stretches north to SR-12 at Bryce Canyon Junction. The Vermilion Cliffs are ascended via the canyon carved by Kanab Creek
Kanab Creek
Kanab Creek is one of the many tributaries of the Grand Canyon. It begins in Kane County, Utah, just south of the watershed to the Great Basin and flows south to the Colorado River. It passes Kanab, Utah, crossing the border to Arizona near Fredonia...

. Near the White Cliffs, US-89 meets SR-9 at Mt. Carmel Junction, where travelers can turn to reach Zion National Park
Zion National Park
Zion National Park is located in the Southwestern United States, near Springdale, Utah. A prominent feature of the park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles long and up to half a mile deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River...

. The final "step" is the Pink Cliffs
Pink Cliffs
The Pink Cliffs are a series of highly-dissected cliffs, approximately 35 mi long, along the southeast edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in southwestern Utah in the United States...

, where the highway follows alongside the Virgin River
Virgin River
The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. states of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. The river is about long. It was designated Utah's first wild and scenic river in 2009, during the centennial celebration of Zion National Park.-Course:...

 to the highest point on US-89 in southern Utah and the east end of SR-14, a summit at Long Valley Junction (elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....

 7450 feet/2300 m).

North from Long Valley Junction, US-89 descends through the valley of the Sevier River
Sevier River
The Sevier River , extending , is the longest Utah river entirely in the state and drains an extended chain of mountain farming valleys to the intermittent Sevier Lake...

, meeting SR-12, a scenic highway that leads to Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park is a national park located in southwestern Utah in the United States. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon which, despite its name, is not a canyon but a giant natural amphitheater created by erosion along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau...

, 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 dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

med to create the Piute Reservoir, and US-89 meets SR-62 near Kingston. North of Marysvale, the valley again narrows into the Sevier Canyon
Sevier Canyon
Marysvale Canyon or Sevier Canyon runs eight miles north from Marysvale, Utah to the town of Sevier, Utah. It is a steep walled canyon formed by the flow of the meandering Sevier River....

, which carries the river to its confluence with Clear Creek
Clear Creek (Utah)
Clear Creek is a creek in Utah which joins the Sevier River near the city of Sevier. It flows alongside Interstate 70 just east of where I-70 meets I-15....

 and US-89 to its overlap with Interstate 70, beginning at Sevier.

I-70 to the Wasatch Front

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.

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
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 of Thistle, flooded by a landslide
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...

 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
Utah Valley
Utah Valley is a valley in North Central Utah located in Utah County, and is considered part of the Wasatch Front. It contains Provo, Orem, and their suburbs, including Highland, Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs, Mapleton, Spanish Fork, Lindon, Pleasant Grove, Springville, Lehi, Payson, and...

 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.

Wasatch Front

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
Provo Canyon
Provo Canyon is a canyon located in unincorporated Utah County, Utah, USA and Wasatch County, Utah. Provo Canyon splits between Mount Timpanogos on the north and Mount Cascade on the south. The canyon extends from Orem on the west end to Heber City on the east. The canyon's main thoroughfare is...

 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
Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Murray, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 1,029,655 as of 2010...

. 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
Frontage road
A frontage road is a non-limited access road running parallel to a higher-speed road, usually a freeway, and feeding it at appropriate points of access...

 to the location of the former split. From here all the way to downtown Salt Lake City
Downtown Salt Lake City
Downtown is the oldest district in Salt Lake City. The grid from which the entire city is laid out originates at Temple Square, the location of the Salt Lake Temple.-Location:...

, US-89 is marked along State Street, a major north–south street that ends at the Utah State Capitol
Utah State Capitol
The Utah State Capitol is the house of government for the U.S. state of Utah. The building houses the chambers of the Utah State Legislature, the offices of the Governor of Utah and Lieutenant Governor of Utah, along with other supporting offices for the Government of Utah...

. 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.

US-89 leaves Salt Lake City at exit 312 of I-15, where it acts as I-15's frontage road
Frontage road
A frontage road is a non-limited access road running parallel to a higher-speed road, usually a freeway, and feeding it at appropriate points of access...

s. 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 (former US-91, but never US-89) 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 Legacy Parkway
Legacy Parkway
Legacy Parkway is a four-lane freeway completely within Davis County in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, running from Interstate 215 in North Salt Lake to Interstate 15 and US-89 in Farmington. Construction began in 2006 and was completed in 2008, with the freeway opening in September...

 also ends, and proceeds north on a freeway. This portion of US-89 is the only one to include exit number
Exit number
An exit number is a number assigned to a road junction, usually an exit from a freeway. It is usually marked on the same sign as the destinations of the exit, as well as a sign in the gore....

s based on its own mileage, as opposed to the overlapping I-15 or I-70. The freeway ends after US-89 crosses SR-273, the former surface alignment 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
Hill Air Force Base
Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force Base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and near the towns of Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, Sunset, and Layton. It is about north of Salt Lake City. The base was named in honor of Major Ployer Peter Hill of the U.S. Army Air...

. 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
Willard Bay
Willard Bay is a reservoir in Northern Utah.- Geography :Willard Bay is a freshwater reservoir located in eastern Box Elder County, Utah, north-west of the city of Ogden, on the north-eastern floodplains of the Great Salt Lake. The reservoir is operated by the Weber Basin Water Conservancy...

 and the Wasatch Mountains to Brigham City, where it finally turns east away from the I-15 corridor.

Wasatch Front to Idaho border

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
Box Elder Canyon
Box Elder Canyon is a canyon located within the western slopes of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains in Utah, in the Western United States. It was created by a prehistoric river, which flowed as a tributary into the main pool of ancient Lake Bonneville,...

 in the southern Wellsville Mountains
Wellsville Mountains
The Wellsville Mountains are located in northern Utah and are often considered part of the Wasatch Mountains. The mountains separate the Cache Valley from the Wasatch Front. Nearly all of the water collected by the Wellsville Mountains drains into the Bear River.While only moderately tall, they are...

, finally leaving the valley of the Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...

 into a small valley that contains Mantua Reservoir (elevation 5200 feet/1585 m). US-89/US-91 turns north there, bypassing the town of Mantua to the west, and continues to ascend through Dry Canyon to Sardine Summit (elevation 5900 feet/1798 m). Another small valley leads to Wellsville Canyon, where the four-lane roadway again turns east and descends into the Cache Valley
Cache Valley
The Cache Valley is an agricultural valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre.-History:...

. In that valley, US-89/US-91 heads northeast, bypassing Wellsville
Wellsville, Utah
Wellsville is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The population was 3,432 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Wellsville is located at ....

 to the east, into downtown Logan
Logan, Utah
-Layout of the City:Logan's city grid originates from its Main and Center Street block, with Main Street running north and south, and Center east and west. Each block north, east, south, or west of the origin accumulates in additions of 100 , though some streets have non-numeric names...

. US-91 continues northerly from Logan into Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

, but US-89 splits to the east, beginning a long climb of the Bear River Range through Logan Canyon
Logan Canyon
Logan Canyon is a canyon that cuts its way through the Bear River Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range, in northeastern Utah. The canyon is popular for both summer and winter activities, especially rock-climbing, hiking, camping, fishing, snowmobiling, and skiing, at the Beaver Mountain ski...

. The Logan Canyon Scenic Byway, a Utah and National Scenic Byway
National Scenic Byway
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for its archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and/or scenic qualities. The program was established by Congress in 1991 to preserve and protect the nation's scenic but often...

, begins at Logan and follows US-89 up the canyon, past the access road to the Beaver Mountain
Beaver Mountain
Beaver Mountain is a ski area in northern Utah, opened in 1939 and located near the summit of Logan Canyon in the Bear River Mountains. While smaller and less developed than a number of Utah ski resorts, Beaver Mountain is very popular with residents of nearby Logan, Utah State University, the...

 ski area, to Garden City
Garden City, Utah
Garden City is a town in Rich County, Utah, United States. The population was 562 at the 2010 census. Garden City sits on the shores of Bear Lake and is a popular summer resort destination town.-History:...

 and on to the state line. Bear Lake Summit (elevation 7800 ft/2377 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
Garden City, Utah
Garden City is a town in Rich County, Utah, United States. The population was 562 at the 2010 census. Garden City sits on the shores of Bear Lake and is a popular summer resort destination town.-History:...

 on the shore of Bear Lake
Bear Lake (Idaho-Utah)
Bear Lake is a natural freshwater lake on the Utah-Idaho border in the Western United States. It is the second largest natural freshwater lake in Utah and has been called the "Caribbean of the Rockies" for its unique turquoise-blue color, the result of suspended limestone deposits in the water...

 (elevation 5900 ft/1798 m). The final segment of US-89 to the Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

 state line follows the lake's west shore, its location constrained by the Bear River Range just to the west.

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. The highway was extended north to the Canadian border near Glacier National Park in the mid-1930s, though a dispute between Utah and Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

 on the one side and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

 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
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...

. (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
Cache Valley
The Cache Valley is an agricultural valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre.-History:...

, now SR-38 and SR-30.) Wyoming's preferred routing, which left US-91 at Provo, instead became US-189. 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. 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
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...

 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. No rail line ever reached farther south, and so residents of towns such as Junction, Panguitch, Alton, Glendale, and Kanab had to travel north to the railhead
Railhead
The word railhead is a railway term with two distinct meanings, depending upon its context.Sometimes, particularly in the context of modern freight terminals, the word is used to denote a terminus of a railway line, especially if the line is not yet finished, or if the terminus interfaces with...

 at Marysvale. The old county road through Circleville Canyon was poorly constructed, with steep grades and a rough surface. 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. 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
Mesa
A mesa or table mountain is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape....

 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. 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. 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.

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
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 was added. 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. (The old route from Alton south to Kanab would be re-added to the state road system in 1933 as SR-136.) 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 . 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 followed the branch to Thistle. The Alton loop was removed from SR-11 in 1941, with the south half remaining in the system as part of SR-136. 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.

State Route 1, which became U.S. Route 91 in 1926, ran north–south through central and northern Utah in the 1920s. State Route 2 left SR-1 at Logan and ran east through Logan Canyon
Logan Canyon
Logan Canyon is a canyon that cuts its way through the Bear River Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range, in northeastern Utah. The canyon is popular for both summer and winter activities, especially rock-climbing, hiking, camping, fishing, snowmobiling, and skiing, at the Beaver Mountain ski...

 to Garden City; this had been built with federal aid as a forest road in about 1918. The road north from Garden City to Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

 was added to the system in 1921, and became part of State Route 3. In 1927, the legislature added State Route 49, an alternate southern entrance to Ogden that left SR-1 at Farmington and merged with SR-5 (US-30S) at Uintah. (Present SR-60 was numbered as a branch of SR-49 until 1935.) State Route 69, stretching from US-191 (now SR-13) just north of Brigham City north and east to US-91 in Logan, became a state highway in 1931. The 1930s extension of US-89 took it north from Thistle along US-50 (SR-8) to Springville, US-91 (SR-1 and SR-106, later all SR-1) to Farmington, SR-49 to Uintah, US-30S (SR-5) to Ogden, US-91 (SR-1) to Brigham City, SR-69 to Logan, SR-2 to Garden City, and SR-3 to Idaho. US-89 was removed from SR-69 and overlapped with US-91 between Brigham City and Logan in the mid-1950s.

In 1957, one year after construction began on the Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona in the United States, just north of Page. The dam was built to provide hydroelectricity and flow regulation from the upper Colorado River Basin to the lower. Its reservoir is called Lake Powell, and is the second...

, the legislature designated a new State Route 259, heading east and southeast from SR-11 in Kanab to Arizona en route to the dam and adjacent bridge. This replaced about eight miles (13 km) of SR-136 (the original state highway from the 1910s) at its south end, but the remainder was a new roadway, through an area not previously served by improved roads. The route past the dam was initially designated as an alternate route
Alternate route
An official alternate route is a special route in the United States that provides an alternate alignment for a highway. They are loop roads and found in many road systems in the United States including the U.S. Route system and various state route systems...

 of US-89, but when completed on February 20, 1959 it instead became US-89's mainline, as it was a better route during all weather, and the old route (SR-11 south of Kanab) became U.S. Route 89 Alternate.

Major numbering changes were made in Utah's state highway system in the 1960s and 1970s, beginning with the construction of Interstate Highways and culminating in the 1977 renumbering, where state route numbers concurrent with other types were dropped entirely. However, the majority of these changes were not visible to the public, as signs continued to display US-89 and other U.S. Routes and Interstates. The following changes were made to state routes related to US-89:
Route Pre-1962 Changes Post-1977
SR-1 Aligned with US-91 (not signed) 1962: moved to I-15 (no signage changes); specific changes are listed below Became I-15
SR-259 Arizona to SR-11 (US-89A) in Kanab (signed as US-89) no changes Replaced by US-89
SR-11 Arizona to Nephi (mostly US-89; only signed north of Pigeon Hollow Junction) 1969: cut back to SR-4 (future I-70) at Sevier (SR-11 signs were replaced with SR-132 signs north of Pigeon Hollow Junction); specific changes are listed below Arizona to Kanab
SR-258 Loop off US-89 through Central
Central, Utah
Central is a census-designated place in northwestern Washington County, Utah, United States, on the edge of the Dixie National Forest. The population was 613 at the 2010 census. Central lies along State Route 18 north of the city of St. George, the county seat of Washington County...

1969: moved west to replace SR-11 (US-89) between Elsinore and SR-120 (signs were removed from the old route) Remained as temporary US-89
SR-120 N/A 1969: created as a business loop for future I-70 through Richfield, replacing SR-11 (US-89) (no signage changes) Remained as temporary US-89
SR-119 SR-11 (US-89) east to SR-24 1969: extended southwest over SR-11 (US-89) to SR-120 (no signage changes) SR-120 east to SR-24
SR-135 N/A 1969: replaced SR-11 (US-89) between SR-119 and SR-24 (no signage changes) Remained as temporary US-89
SR-24 SR-11 (US-89) southeast and northeast to I-70 1969: extended north over SR-11 (US-89) to SR-28 in Salina (no signage changes) US-50 near Salina southeast and northeast to I-70
SR-28 SR-11 in Gunnison north to Levan 1969: extended south over SR-11 (US-89) and proposed connection to I-70 (no signage changes) US-89 in Gunnison north to Levan (1969 extension replaced by US-89)
SR-32 SR-11 (US-89) at Pigeon Hollow Junction north to Thistle (signed as US-89) 1969: extended south over SR-11 (US-89) to SR-28 in Gunnison (no signage changes) Replaced by US-89
SR-132 Lynndyl
Lynndyl, Utah
Lynndyl is a town in Millard County, Utah, United States. The population was 134 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lynndyl is located at ....

 to Nephi
1969: extended southeast over SR-11 to SR-32 (US-89) at Pigeon Hollow Junction (signs changed from SR-11 to SR-132 on extension) Lynndyl to US-89 at Pigeon Hollow Junction
SR-8 Colorado to SR-1 (US-91) in Springville (signed as US-6, US-50, and US-89) 1962: replaced by SR-4 (I-70) near the Colorado state line (no signage changes)
1964: replaced SR-1 (US-89/91) between Springville and Lehi (no signage changes)
1969: became SR-27 south of Moark Junction (no signage changes), leaving only Moark Junction to Lehi
Replaced by US-89
SR-271 N/A 1964: replaced SR-1 (US-89/91) through Salt Lake City, from Draper to Becks (no signage changes) Replaced by US-89
SR-169 N/A 1962: replaced SR-1 (US-89/91) from Becks to north Bountiful (no signage changes) Replaced by US-89
SR-49 SR-1 north to SR-3 (I-80N) near Uintah (signed as US-89) 1968: replaced SR-3 from Uintah to Ogden (no signage changes) Replaced by US-89
SR-50 N/A 1969: replaced SR-1 (US-89/91) from Roy through Ogden to Hot Springs Junction (no signage changes) Replaced by US-89 north of Ogden; Roy to Ogden (ex-US-91) became SR-26
SR-84 SR-1 in Roy to SR-1 at Hot Springs Junction 1962: replaced SR-1 (US-89/91, US-191) from Hot Springs Junction to Riverside
Riverside, Utah
Riverside is a census-designated place in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 760 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Riverside is located at ....

 (no signage changes)
1969: replaced SR-1 (US-91) from Layton to Roy (no signage changes)
Replaced by US-89 from Hot Springs Junction to Brigham City; Layton to Hot Springs Junction became SR-126 and Brigham City to Riverside became SR-13
SR-85 N/A 1962: replaced SR-1 (US-89/91) from Brigham City to Idaho (no signage changes) Replaced by US-91 (partly concurrent with US-89)
SR-13 N/A 1962: replaced SR-2 (US-89) from Logan to Garden City (no signage changes) Replaced by US-89
SR-16 N/A 1962: replaced SR-3 (partly US-89) from Wyoming to Idaho (signage south of Garden City changed from SR-3 to SR-16) Wyoming to SR-30 at Sage Creek Junction (replaced by SR-30 and US-89 north of Sage Creek Junction)

In particular, SR-11 was cut back to only the roadway south from Kanab, which had become US-89A in 1959.

Major intersections

County Location Mile #
Exit number
An exit number is a number assigned to a road junction, usually an exit from a freeway. It is usually marked on the same sign as the destinations of the exit, as well as a sign in the gore....

Destinations Notes
Kane 0.000 Arizona state line
17.689 Cottonwood Canyon Road
54.629 Johnson Canyon Road Former SR-136
Kanab 63.832  – Fredonia, Jacob Lake, Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...

Mt. Carmel Junction 81.211
98.993 Johnson Canyon Road Former SR-136
Long Valley Junction 103.684
Garfield Bryce Canyon Junction 124.227
Panguitch 131.088
Bear Valley Junction 141.104
Piute 162.382
Junction 164.282
Sevier Sevier
Sevier, Utah
Sevier is an unincorporated community in southwestern Sevier County, Utah, United States. It lies in the valley of the Sevier River along U.S. Route 89 southwest of the city of Richfield, the county seat of Sevier County. Its elevation is 5,584 feet . Although Sevier is unincorporated, it...

190.830 Sevier Road, Clear Creek Canyon Road Former SR-4
191.740 South end of I-70 overlap
Joseph 194 25
Elsinore 200 31 Elsinore, Monroe (SR-258)
Richfield 206 37
209 40
Sigurd 217 48
Salina 225.362 North end of I-70 overlap; south end of US-50/I-70 Bus. overlap
227.117 North end of US-50/I-70 Bus. overlap
228.225
Sanpete 233.460
Gunnison 240.195
241.434
247.806
Ephraim 262.180 400 South Former SR-29
262.668
262.794
Pigeon Hollow Junction 267.346
271.892
276.346
Mount Pleasant 277.868
Fairview 284.131
Utah 312.784 South end of US-6 overlap
Moark Junction 322.276 North end of US-6 overlap
Mapleton 324.711
325.719
Springville 327.694 Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
328.068
329.778
Provo 334.108
334.855
Orem 337.878
339.625 Center Street Former SR-78
340.167 400 North Former SR-247
340.707
Pleasant Grove 344.559
344.676 Former SR-233
345.436 Former SR-233
American Fork 347.360
347.971
348.811
Lehi 350.056
351.984
352.996 South end of I-15 overlap
355 284
Salt Lake Draper 359 288
361 289
362 North end of I-15 overlap; south end of SR-71 overlap
362.150 North end of SR-71 overlap
Sandy 364.420 10600 South
366.464
Midvale 368.750
Murray 369.493 Interchange
371.216
371.793 Vine Street Former SR-173
372.491
South Salt Lake 374.270
375.559 Interchange
376.062
Salt Lake City
377.762 900 South Former SR-176
378.407
378.552 Former US-89 north
378.852
379.145 Former SR-176
379.881 North Temple Former US-89 south, SR-186 west
380.641
381.495  – Pioneer Memorial Museum
383 2300 North Former SR-249; access across railroad has been closed
383 Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Davis North Salt Lake 384 Northbound exit and southbound entrance
384.879 Orchard Drive Former SR-255
386.272 400 East Former SR-131
386.801
Bountiful,
Woods Cross
387.379 Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance
387.773 1500 South Former SR-131
Bountiful 388.438
Bountiful, West Bountiful 389.123
South end of freeway
389.531 South end of I-15 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance
Centerville 391 319 Centerville (SR-105)
Farmington 394 322 Northbound exit and southbound entrance
395.586 North end of I-15 overlap; southbound exit is via exit 395
394 Southbound exit and northbound entrance
396.051 395
396.746 396
397.549 397
Fruit Heights
398.695 North end of freeway
399.705 200 North Former SR-110
Layton 401.411
404.296 404 Interchange
South Weber 405.729 405 Interchange; former SR-49A
Weber Uintah 406.434 , Evanston, Cheyenne, Riverdale Interchange
South Ogden 408.379
410.256 Adams Avenue Parkway
Adams Avenue Parkway
The Adams Avenue Parkway is a private toll road in the U.S. state of Utah connecting U.S. Route 89 to Interstate 84 near Washington Terrace, Utah. The roadway opened in 2001 at a cost of $8.9 million and was created after decades of requests by locals to connect the existing Adams Avenue to I-84...

Washington Terrace
South Ogden 412.189 36th Street Former SR-230
Ogden
412.365
413.052
413.927
414.361 21st Street Former SR-175
414.508 20th Street Former SR-182
415.425
415.942 7th Street Former SR-183A
416.463 Former SR-203
Harrisville 417.408
Pleasant View 420.292
422.487 Pleasant View Drive Former SR-235
Box Elder Hot Springs Junction 423.300 Interchange
Willard 428.771
Brigham City 433.555
435 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
451
Logan 455
457
458 300 South Former SR-238
458 South end of SR-30 overlap
458.970 North end of US-91 overlap
460.630 1200 East Former SR-288
480.896 Tony Grove Road Former SR-238
487.023
Rich Garden City 498.512 North end of SR-30 overlap
502.577 Idaho state line

External links

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