Utah State Route 12
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| A Journey Through Time Scenic Byway | ||||
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| 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 |
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 SR-63 near Bryce CanyonHole in the Rock Rd. near Escalante |
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| East end: |  SR-24 near Torrey |
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| Highway system | ||||
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State highways in Utah
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→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.
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[edit] Route description
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.
[edit] Traffic volume
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]
[edit] History
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]
[edit] Major intersections
| County | Location | Mile[1] | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garfield | Bryce Canyon Junction | 0.000 | US-89 – Panguitch, Kanab, Zion National Park |
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| 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 |
[edit] See also
[edit] Gallery
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SR-12 goes north up the canyon in the upper left of the photo after crossing the Escalante River. -
The canyons after the Escalante River. -
Moonrise over SR-12 in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument -
Red Canyon, in Utah's Dixie National Forest, is near the western end of Route 12. -
An overlook from the eastern portion of Highway 12. -
Calf Creek Canyon runs near Route 12. -
The bridge on Hell's Backbone Road. -
Red Canyon Scenic Drive.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Utah Department of Transportation, Highway Reference Information: SR-12, updated 2008-05-01. Retrieved July 2008.
- ^ UDOT Traffic Counts, page 6
- ^ a b Utah Department of Transportation, Highway Resolutions: Route 12PDF (9.72 MB), updated September 2007, accessed May 2008
- ^ State Road Commission, Utah State Trunk Lines, 1923
- ^ "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."
- ^ "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."
- ^ "Designation of State Roads", Chapter 37, Session Laws of Utah, 1935
- ^ Utah Department of Transportation, State Route History. Retrieved July 2007.
- ^ "Designation of State Roads", Chapter 21, Session Laws of Utah, 1927: "23. From Widtsoe easterly to Escalante."
- ^ "Designation of State Roads", Chapter 34, Session Laws of Utah, 1941
- ^ "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."
- ^ "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."
- ^ Utah Department of Transportation, Highway Resolutions: Route 117PDF (1.56 MB), updated November 2007, accessed May 2008
[edit] External links
- Map and more from the DOT's American Byways website
- State of Utah's website for the highway
