U.S. Route 191
U.S. Route 191 is a spur of U.S. Route 91 that has two branches. The northern branch currently runs for 440 miles (708 km) from Loring, Montana, at the Canadian border to the northern part of Yellowstone National Park. The southern branch currently runs for 1,465 miles (2,358 km) from the southern part of Yellowstone National Park to Douglas, Arizona, on the Mexican border. It passes through the states of Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Arizona.
The original route commissioned in 1926 ran from Idaho Falls, Idaho, to West Yellowstone, Montana. Its routing has drastically changed through the years having been extended and shortened several times. West Yellowstone is the only town that has always been served by the highway. At one time US 191 connected to its parent, US 91, twice: at Idaho Falls, Idaho and Brigham City, Utah; today they do not connect. US 191 is now ten times longer than its parent.
By the late 1970s the route was truncated to West Yellowstone and Malta, Montana. Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming lobbied AASHTO to create a single highway that would connect several national parks in the three states to facilitate tourism. It was decided to number this "new" highway an extension of US 191. Most of the southern extension recycled existing U.S. and state highways. However at least three new pieces were proposed:
- Local and National Forest roads were upgraded to create a more direct route between Flaming Gorge Reservoir and Interstate 80 in Wyoming.
- A road linking Vernal, Utah and Interstate 70 near Cisco, Utah was proposed but never built. The current route between Vernal and I-70 is a circuitous route that replaced (then) Utah State Route 33 over Indian Summit between Price and Duchesne.
- A new route was constructed between Bluff, Utah and Mexican Water, Arizona. This change bypassed steep hills and sharp curves near Mexican Hat, Utah and Monument Valley along U.S. Route 163. This was arguably the only instance where US 191 was built to bypass a scenic area.
The southern extension was complete in 1982.
With its mission of connecting national parks complete the highway became popular with tourists and RV's. U.S. Highway 191 now the primary US route to connect Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Capitol Reef National Park, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse Point State Park, Natural Bridges National Monument, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Hovenweep National Monument, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Painted Desert, Arizona and Petrified Forest National Monument. The highway also indirectly connects Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park, Monument Valley, Four Corners National Monument, Grand Canyon National Park, Wupatki National Monument, and Sunset Crater National Monument.
In 1992, Arizona requested a new number for its portion of U.S. Route 666, arguing the road signs on this highway were the most frequently stolen in the state. As a result, US 191 was extended to the Mexican border at Douglas, Arizona. A section of this road between Springerville and Morenci was designated a National Scenic Byway and given the name of Coronado Trail Scenic Byway, as this approximates the path taken by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado between 1540 and 1542.
In 1999 it became the last U.S. highway to run from border to border, with the extension from Malta, Montana to the Canadian border.
In 2003 New Mexico asked AASHTO to renumber its portion of US 666. This time all of remaining US 666 was renumbered U.S. Route 491 giving US 191 a "child".
See also
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