U.S. Route 163

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This article is about the current US 163. For the road designated as US 163 in the 1930s, see Iowa Highway 163.
U.S. Route 163
Maintained by ADOT and UDOT
Length: 200.49 mi[1][2] (322.66 km)
Formed: 1970[3]
South end: US 160 south of Kayenta, AZ
Major
junctions:		 US-191 in Bluff, UT
North end: I-70 at Crescent Junction, UT
United States Numbered Highways
List - Bannered - Divided - Replaced
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U.S. Route 163 (also U.S. Highway 163, US 163) is a 200-mile (322 km) U.S. Highway that runs from US 160 northerward to Interstate 70 (I-70) in the U.S. states of Arizona and Utah, although only 64 miles (103 km) from US 160 to US 191 is signed. Additionally, the southernmost 44 miles (71 km) of its length is also within the Navajo Nation. The highway forms part of the Trail of the Ancients National Scenic Byway. The highway cuts through the heart of Monument Valley and has been featured in numerous movies and commercials.

The highway was designated in 1970, combining Arizona State Route 464 and Utah State Route 47 as well as a portion of the old alignment of US 160 in Utah. In 1981, US 191 was routed over the northern section of US 163 from Bluff, Utah to I-70. Utah truncated US 163 at the junction with US 191 with plans of extending it further to the east. This planned route was denied and in 2004, US 163 was extended north over its previous alignment, unsigned in favor of US 191 to I-70.

Contents

[edit] Route description

US 163 near Monument Valley, Utah
US 163 near Monument Valley, Utah

[edit] Arizona

The southern terminus of US 163 is located at a junction with US 160 south of Kayenta in Navajo County and Navajo Nation. The road continues to the south of this junction as Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Route 591. US 163 heads north from US 160 to the west of the Kayenta Airport as it passes through the town of Kayenta. The highway curves towards the northeast in Kayenta before it curves back towards the north. As it continues towards the north, the highway goes through an s-curve, resulting in a northeasterly heading. US 163 continues this heading as it heads toward Monument Valley and crosses the border into Utah.[4] An 18-mile (29 km) stretch of the highway from approximately 5 miles (8 km) north of the US 160 junction to the Utah border has been designated as a scenic route by the state of Arizona.[5]

[edit] Utah

See also: U.S. Route 191 in Utah

The Utah portion of the highway begins in Monument Valley, in San Juan County. Just after entering Utah the highway junctions with the Monument Valley Visitors center. The highway proceeds northeast until the town of Mexican Hat where the highway both crosses the San Juan River and exits the Navajo Nation. From Mexican Hat, the highway travels due east to towards its signed terminus in Bluff. According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the route continues along with US 191 to I-70, however the portion north of Bluff is not signed.[2] The entire signed length of US 163 in Utah has been designated the Bluff to Monument Valley Scenic byway by the Utah State Legislature[6] and forms part of the Trail of the Ancients National Scenic Byway.[7]

Legally, the Utah section of U.S. 163 is defined at Utah Code Annotated § 72-4-122(3).[8]

[edit] History

The modern routing of US 163 in Utah was initially designated as State Route 47, in 1910. SR 47 extended to Monticello at a junction with then U.S. Route 160.[9] In Arizona, the road appeared on maps as early as 1935, but it was still an unimproved dirt road at the time.[10] The Arizona portion was added to the state highway system in 1960 when it was designated as State Route 464.[11]

In 1970, US 163 was designated along SR 464 in Arizona and SR 47 in Utah as part of a re-alignment of US highways in the Four Corners region.[3] With the re-alignment, US 160 was re-routed into Arizona instead of Utah. US 163 also absorbed the former route of US 160 to its former terminus at Interstate 70 at Crescent Junction. In 1981, AASHTO approved a new iteration of U.S. Route 191 that absorbed much of the alignment of US 163.[12] Utah truncated US 163 at Bluff. The truncation was made without approval from AASHTO, as the AASHTO logs place the northern terminus of US 163 at I-70 at Crescent Junction.[12]

View of Monument Valley in Utah, looking south on US 163
View of Monument Valley in Utah, looking south on US 163

The state of Utah signed a joint intent with the Navajo Nation and San Juan County in 1986 to construct a new highway to connect Bluff with Montezuma Creek. Businesses in Monument Valley asked the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) to request extensions of US 163 and US 666 using this new road.[13] The proposal would have US 163 run from Cedar City to US 160 near Cortez, Colorado along the routes of Utah SR 14, U.S. Route 89, Arizona SR 98, U.S. Route 160, the current US 163, the new road from Bluff to Montezuma Creek, and Colorado SH 41. The proposal for US 666 would extend to Richfield via upgrades to Utah SR 95 and Utah SR 24.[13] UDOT submitted the proposal for US 666 to AASHTO, which was rejected. AASHTO cited that the route was not direct, and SR 24 was not built to US route standards.[13] UDOT did not pursue the extension of US 163, even though the Utah state legislature had already approved the new road from Bluff to Montezuma creek as route 163.[12]

With this extension the Utah definition of US 163 conflicted with the AASHTO definition. UDOT resolved this discrepancy by signing the extended portion as State Route 163. In 2004, the plan to extend US 163 was abandoned, and the extension was renumbered SR 162 to "make the state route numbers run synonymous with the US route designation".[12] Although the state changed the definition of US 163 back to match the national definition in 2004, the portion north of Bluff remains unsigned.[12][14][15]

[edit] Junction list

County Location Mile[1][2] Junction Notes
Navajo County 0.00 US 160 – Tuba City, Four Corners
23.21
0.000		 Arizona / Utah State Line
San Juan County
0.458 Navajo/BIA route 42 – Monument Valley Tribal Park Visitors Center
24.847 SR-261 – Goosenecks State Park, Valley of the Gods
41.405 US-191 – Bluff, Mexican Water, AZ South end of US 191 overlap, Signed end of US 163
Grand County Crescent Junction 177.280 I-70 / US-6 / US-50 / US-191 – Green River, Grand Junction, CO North end of US 191 overlap

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Arizona Department of Transportation. 2006 ADOT Highway Log. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  2. ^ a b c Highway Reference information - Route 163. Utah Department of Transportation. Retrieved on 2008-02-03.
  3. ^ a b Arizona DOT Right-of-Way Resolutions. Arizona Department of Transportation. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
  4. ^ Google Maps. Overview map of US 163 in Arizona [map]. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  5. ^ Arizona Department of Transportation. ADOT Right-of-Way Resolution 1996-06-A-031. Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
  6. ^ Utah Office of Tourism. Retrieved on 2007-08-29.
  7. ^ Trail of the Ancients. U.S. Department of Transportation National Scenic Byway program. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
  8. ^ Utah Code Annotated § 72-4-122(3). State of Utah. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
  9. ^ Highway Resolutions SR 47. Utah Department of Transportation. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
  10. ^ Arizona State Highway Department. Road Map of Arizona [map]. (1935) Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
  11. ^ Arizona Department of Transportation. ADOT Right-of-Way Resolution 1961-041. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  12. ^ a b c d e Highway Resolutions SR 163. Utah Department of Transportation. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
  13. ^ a b c Highway Resolutions SR 666. Utah Department of Transportation. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
  14. ^ image:128and191jct.jpg Image showing the junction of US 191 (and unsigned US 163) with SR-128
  15. ^ Dale Sanderson. Images of current and historical signs at junction of US 163, US 191, US 6, US 50 and I-70 at Crescent Junction. Retrieved on 2008-05-01.

[edit] External links


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