U.S. Route 50 in Utah
 U.S. Route 50 | ||||
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_map.svg) | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by UDOT | ||||
| Length | 336.76 mi[1] (541.96 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
 US 6 in Delta Interstate 15 in Holden Interstate 15 in Scipio  Interstate 70/US 89 in Salina US 191/US 6 near Green River US 191 at Crescent Junction SR 128 near Cisco | ||||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Utah | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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U.S. Route 50 in Utah is a highway that crosses the center of the state. The highway serves no major population centers in Utah, with the largest city along its path being Delta.
Route Description
The highway enters Utah from Nevada in a desolate portion of the Great Basin desert. The highway crosses the Confusion Mountain Range via kings canyon and House Range via Skull Rock Pass[2] before descending and following the north shore of Sevier Lake. The highway follows sevier lake to Delta. East of Delta the highway zig-zags through farming areas before reaching Interstate 15 near Holden. The highway runs briefly concurrent with I-15 to cross the Pahvant Mountains at Scipio Summit. US 50 then separates from I-15 to meet I-70 in Salina. While co-routed with I-70 US 50 passes through the San Rafael Swell. U.S. 50 then meets U.S. Route 6 (which is an old routing of US 50) near Green River, Utah. The three routes run concurrent and follow the southern edge of the Book Cliffs to Grand Junction, Colorado.
Similar to the Nevada portion, the Utah portion features long distances with no services available including:
- Delta, Utah to a single gas station on the Utah/Nevada State Line, about 100 miles.
- Green River, Utah to Salina, Utah about 110 miles
- Thompson Springs, Utah to Fruita, Colorado about 60 miles
Route History
The modern route of U.S. Route 50 in Utah is the third iteration. The route has not significantly changed east of Green River, Utah.
Between Ely, Nevada and Green River, the original route of U.S. 50 formed an arch shape that reached as far north as Salt Lake City, Utah. This route has been renumbered Utah State Route 201 and U.S. Route 93 among others. The 2nd iteration was formed in the 1950's and was a smaller arch that is now numbered U.S. Route 6. This route was also straightened, it first passed through Marjum Canyon, but was relocated to follow the north shore of Sevier Lake and Skull Rock pass.
The modern route was created in the 1970's and is mostly concurrent with Interstate 70. East of Green River I-70 closely follows the originally route of U.S. 50. There are minor minor deviations where the route was straightened. The first was a straightening by the junction of U.S. Route 191 at Crescent Junction.[3] The second bypassed Cisco, the third is a straightening near Westwater[2]
References
- ^ Federal Highway Administration, National Highway Planning Network GIS data version 2005.08
- ^ a b Benchmark Maps, Utah Road and Recreation Atlas, copyright 2002
- ^ http://www.geocities.com/usend7079/Crescent/index.htm U.S. Highway Ends by Mapguy, Personal website, last checked 09-13-2007
