Utah State Route 12

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State Route 12 marker

State Route 12
A Journey Through Time Scenic Byway
Route information
Defined by Utah Code §72-4-107
Maintained by UDOT
Length: 122.863 mi[1] (197.729 km)
Existed: 1914 as a state highway; 1920s as SR-12 – present
Major junctions
West end: US-89 near Panguitch
  SR-63 near Bryce Canyon
Hole in the Rock Rd. near Escalante
East end: SR-24 near Torrey
Highway system
← SR-10 SR-13 →

State Route 12 or Scenic Byway 12 (SR-12), also known as "Highway 12 — A Journey Through Time Scenic Byway", is a state highway designated an All-American Road located in Garfield County and Wayne County, Utah, USA.

Contents

Route description [edit]

SR-12, as seen from the Head of the Rocks overlook

Proceeding west to east for 122 miles (nearly 200 km), the highway starts south of Panguitch at an intersection with US-89, crosses part of Dixie National Forest and Bryce Canyon National Park, continues through the small towns of Tropic, Cannonville, and Henrieville. It crosses various parts of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GS-ENM), continues northeast through Escalante and over the Escalante River, then north through more of GS-ENM, Boulder, the Aquarius Plateau, Grover, ending in Torrey at an intersection with SR-24, five miles (8 km) west of Capitol Reef National Park. The 30-mile (48 km) long portion of the highway that ascends and descends Boulder Mountain on the Aquarius Plateau is known as Boulder Mountain Highway.

Traffic volume [edit]

The Average Daily Traffic (AADT) on SR-12 is at its greatest at its western junction with US-89, where the count for 2005 was 2,430. At its other end, at the junction with SR-24, the traffic bottoms out at 435.[2]

History [edit]

Red Canyon, Dixie National Forest

The road from Bryce Canyon Junction to Tropic was added to the state highway system in 1914, and in 1923 a branch from Tropic Junction to Bryce Canyon was built as a forest road.[3] The State Road Commission numbered the route to Bryce Canyon SR-12 in the 1920s,[4] and in 1927 the state legislature assigned it to both branches, to Bryce Canyon and Tropic,[5] but split off the branch to Tropic as State Route 54 in 1931. That same year, a new State Route 120 was created, continuing the road from Tropic to Henrieville,[6] and in 1935 it became part of SR-54.[7] Another road was also added to the state highway system in 1914, connecting SR-22 at Widtsoe with Escalante,[8] and it was numbered State Route 23 in 1927.[9] An extension took SR-23 northeast to Boulder in 1941,[10] and in 1947 SR-54 absorbed SR-23, with the Widtsoe-Escalante road dropped in favor of Henrieville-Escalante.[11] State Route 117, running southeast from SR-24 near Teasdale to Grover, became a state highway in 1931,[12] and was extended south to Boulder in 1957, becoming part of SR-54 in 1966.[13] In 1969, SR-54 became part of SR-12, but most of former SR-117 was dropped, leaving SR-12 to stretch from Bryce Canyon Junction to the north limit of Boulder (at the Dixie National Forest boundary), with a short spur to Bryce Canyon. This spur became a new SR-63 in 1975, and in 1985 the route was extended back north from Boulder to SR-24, using a different route than old SR-117 north of Grover.[3]

Major intersections [edit]

County Location Mile[1] Destinations Notes
Garfield Bryce Canyon Junction 0.000 US-89 – Panguitch, Kanab, Zion National Park
10.713 East Fork of the Sevier Scenic Backway
Tropic Junction 13.598 SR-63 / John's Valley Road – Bryce Canyon, Antimony Former SR-22
Cannonville 25.657 Cottonwood Canyon Scenic Backway – Kodachrome Basin State Park
54.643 Main Canyon Road Former SR-23
Escalante 58.968 Smokey Mountain Scenic Backway
59.830 Posey Lake Scenic Backway
64.392 Hole-in-the-Rock Scenic Backway
83.270 Hell's Backbone Road
Boulder 86.352 Burr Trail Scenic Backway
Wayne 118.179 Teasdale Former SR-117
122.863 SR-24 – Loa, Hanksville

See also [edit]

Gallery [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b Utah Department of Transportation, Highway Reference Information: SR-12, updated 2008-05-01. Retrieved July 2008.
  2. ^ UDOT Traffic Counts, page 6
  3. ^ a b Utah Department of Transportation, Highway Resolutions: Route 12 PDF (9.72 MB), updated September 2007, accessed May 2008
  4. ^ State Road Commission, Utah State Trunk Lines, 1923
  5. ^ "Designation of State Roads", Chapter 21, Session Laws of Utah, 1927: "12. From Hillsdale, about 7 miles south of Panguitch, southeasterly via Tropic Junction; to Bryce Canyon; also from Tropic Junction to Tropic."
  6. ^ "Designation of State Roads", Chapter 55, Session Laws of Utah, 1931: "(54) From Tropic junction on route 12 to Tropic." "(120) From Tropic southerly via Cannonville to Henrieville."
  7. ^ "Designation of State Roads", Chapter 37, Session Laws of Utah, 1935
  8. ^ Utah Department of Transportation, State Route History. Retrieved July 2007.
  9. ^ "Designation of State Roads", Chapter 21, Session Laws of Utah, 1927: "23. From Widtsoe easterly to Escalante."
  10. ^ "Designation of State Roads", Chapter 34, Session Laws of Utah, 1941
  11. ^ "Designation of State Roads", Chapter 49, Session Laws of Utah, 1947: "Route 54. From Tropic Junction on route 12 via Tropic, Cannonville, Henrieville, and Escalante to Boulder."
  12. ^ "Designation of State Roads", Chapter 55, Session Laws of Utah, 1931: "(117) From junction with route 24 east of Bicknell, southerly via Teasdale to Grover."
  13. ^ Utah Department of Transportation, Highway Resolutions: Route 117 PDF (1.56 MB), updated November 2007, accessed May 2008

External links [edit]

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