U.S. Route 191

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U.S. Route 191
Length:	1623.91 mi[1] (2613.43 km)
Formed:	1926
South end:	SR 80 in Douglas, AZ
Major junctions:	I-10 in Willcox, AZ I-40 in Sanders, AZ I-70/US 50 in Green River, UT US 6 in Price, UT US 40 in Vernal, UT I-80/US 30 in Rock Springs, WY US 26 in Jackson, WY US 14/16/20 in Yellowstone Nat'l. Park I-90 in Bozeman, MT US 2 in Malta, MT
North end:	SK 4 at Canadian border near Loring, MT
United States Numbered Highways Spur of US 91 List - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

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. There is an implied route through Yellowstone National Park to connect the two branches. The highway passes through the states of Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Arizona.

Contents 1 Route description 1.1 Arizona 1.2 Utah 1.3 Wyoming 1.4 Montana 2 History 2.1 Background 2.2 1982 extension 2.3 Later extensions 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Route description

Lengths
	mi[1]	km
AZ/UT	895.18	1441.51
WY	290.91[2]	468.45
MT	437.82	705.02

[edit] Arizona

US 191 in Arizona 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. This is a very dangerous mountain road with many sharp curves and little or no shoulders on steep cliffs. The highway is the primary route to access Canyon de Chelly National Monument.

[edit] Utah

US 191 enters Utah on Navajo Nation land and crosses mostly desolate parts of the state. The Largest cities served by US 191 are Moab, Price and Vernal. The highway nears the 10,000-foot level in 2 places in Utah, over Indian Summit near Price and again while crossing the Uintah Mountains near Vernal. The highway leaves Utah at Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

Three portions of US 191 in Utah have been designated National Scenic Byways. Between U.S. Route 163 and State Route 95 forms part of the Trail of the Ancients scenic byway. From Moab to Vernal is a portion of the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway. The Flaming Gorge-Uintas Scenic Byway begins at Vernal and follows US 191 to Flaming Gorge. The state has designated the portion from Helper to Duchesne as the Indian Canyon Scenic Byway.

In Utah US 191 is used to access the following parks: Monument Valley, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Hovenweep National Monument, Natural Bridges National Monument, Capitol Reef National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park, Dead Horse Point State Park,Dinosaur National Monument and Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.

Three portions of US 191 in Utah have restrictions on trucks and large vehicles. Between the junctions with state routes 46 and 279 vehicles wider than 15 feet (4.57 m) are required to have 2 police escorts. Between Vernal and the Wyoming State Line vehicles longer than 95 feet (28.96 m) are required to have 2 certified pilot escorts. Vehicles heavier than 20,000 pounds (9,072 kg) pounds per axle are prohibited on Flaming Gorge Dam.^[3]

The Utah section of US 191, with the exceptions of concurrencies with Interstate 70 and US 6 and with US 40, is defined at Utah Code Annotated § 72-4-125(1).^[4]

[edit] Wyoming

US 191 enters Wyoming near a geographical feature known as Minnie's Gap, just east of Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. The route proceeds north through rugged desert country following an alignment mostly constructed during the 1970s, to a junction with Interstate 80 at Exit 99, just west of Rock Springs. This segment of the route is known locally as "East Flaming Gorge Road."

The route is then concurrent with Interstate 80 eastward for approximately 5 miles, passing just north of Rock Springs. US 191 diverges northward at Exit 104, following the former route of US 187. Traveling through high desert country, the route passes through Eden, Farson, and Pinedale before meeting US 189 at Daniel Junction. Continuing north, the road traverses increasingly mountainous terrain, entering the Bridger-Teton National Forest and passing through the small community of Bondurant before descending through the narrow Hoback River Canyon to an intersection with US 26 and US 89 at Hoback Junction. The route than follows the Snake River valley northward to Jackson. US 191 is concurrent with US 189 between Daniel Junction and Jackson, and with US 26 and US 89 between Hoback Junction and Jackson.

North of Jackson, US 191 soon enters Grand Teton National Park, running concurrently with US 26 and US 89. The highway meets US 287 at Moran Junction, inside the park; US 191, US 89, and US 287 are concurrent north of Moran, but the highways are not signed. Continuing through forested, mountainous country, the route passes through the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway, and then enters Yellowstone National Park at the park's South Entrance. No official routing of US 191 through Yellowstone has been designated.

[edit] Montana

US 191 in Montana begins at the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park, at the edge of the town of West Yellowstone. The highway heads north, running concurrently with US 287 for eight miles before veering slightly east and re-entering Yellowstone. US 191 continues northward through Yellowstone, traversing forested, mountainous terrain and briefly looping into the state of Wyoming, before leaving the park in the upper reaches of the Gallatin River canyon. The route travels northward through the narrow canyon, past the resort community of Big Sky, before entering the Gallatin Valley near the town of Gallatin Gateway, Montana. US 191 travels north and east through the valley to the city of Bozeman. Bozeman, with a 2000 census population of 29,459, is the largest city on the entire US 191 route.

From Bozeman, US 191 is concurrent with Interstate 90 eastward 58 miles to Big Timber, where it proceeds north. The road travels through hilly ranch country near the eastern edge of the Crazy Mountains to Harlowton, where US 191 is briefly concurrent with US 12. North of Harlowton, US 191 is concurrent with Montana Highway 3 for 37 miles, to Eddie's Corner. US 191 proceeds eastward from Eddie's Corner to Lewistown, on a roadway shared with US 87 and Montana 200. Interestingly, each of the three routes here is signed with a different compass direction -- traveling towards Lewistown, US 191 is northbound, US 87 is southbound, and Montana 200 is eastbound.

US 191 reaches the Canadian Border after going through Lewistown, across the Missouri River at the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, and through Malta. Its northern terminus at the international border is called Port Morgan, and the road continues into Canada as Saskatchewan Highway 4, toward Swift Current, Alberta.

[edit] History

[edit] Background

The original route commissioned in 1926 ran from Idaho Falls, Idaho, to West Yellowstone, Montana along the route now numbered U.S. Route 20. The routing of US 191 has drastically changed through the years having been extended and shortened several times. West Yellowstone is the only town that has been continuously served by the highway since its commissioning. As US 191 has mostly been extended while US 91 has largely been decommissioned, US191 is now ten times longer than its parent.

At one time US 191 connected to its parent, US 91, twice: at Idaho Falls, Idaho and Brigham City, Utah. Today the highway does not connect to its parent, or even enter Idaho. In Utah, there have been 2 completely different iterations of U.S. 191 serving different areas of the state. The original iteration is now Utah State Route 13, which is mostly a frontage road for Interstate 15.^[5]

[edit] 1982 extension

By 1981, due to the construction of Interstate 15 and extension of other US Highway designations, US 191 had been truncated to a route between West Yellowstone and Malta, Montana. Utah and Wyoming lobbied AASHTO to create a single highway that would connect several National Parks in their states to facilitate tourism. The initial proposal was to extend U.S. Route 163 north into Wyoming. However it was later decided to add Arizona to this proposal for a new highway and instead extend US 191 south.^[6] Most of the southern extension recycled existing U.S. and state highways. However, some new sections were constructed. When the 1982 extension was finished, US 191 reached Interstate 40 in Arizona.

In Wyoming, the new US 191 absorbed what was U.S. Route 187, formed in 1926 as a branch from US 87W (now US 287) at Jackson Lake Junction, Wyoming south to US 30 in Rock Springs. Although it became part of US 191 in 1982, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials still lists it in their latest log (1989), with a short independent section in Rock Springs between former US 30 (now US 30 Business) and I-80.

A combination of new construction and the upgrading of county roads created a more direct route between Interstate 80 in Wyoming and Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

From Flaming Gorge to Vernal, US 191 absorbed most of Utah State Route 44, although a portion of that route still exists. From Duchesne to Helper US 191 completely absorbed Utah State Route 33.^[7] From Crescent Junction to Bluff was previously numbered U.S. Route 163. Although the change significantly shortened US 163, AASHTO's logs lists the full length of the route.

A new route was constructed for US 191 from Bluff, Utah to a junction with U.S. Route 160 in Arizona. The 1982 extension caused US 191 to enter Arizona for the first time in its history. Between US 160 and I-40 the highway absorbed the route of former Arizona State Route 63^[8]

[edit] Later extensions

In 1992, Arizona requested a new number for its portion of U.S. Route 666^[8], arguing the road signs on this highway were the most frequently stolen in the state. As a result, US 191 was extended again to the Mexican border at Douglas, Arizona. In 1999 it became the latest U.S. highway to run from border to border, with the extension from Malta, Montana to the Canadian border^[6], absorbing former Montana Secondary Highway 242. In 2003 New Mexico asked AASHTO to renumber its portion of US 666. This time all of then US 666 was renumbered U.S. Route 491, the x91 number was decided because the road meets US 191 in Monticello, Utah.

[edit] See also

• List of U.S. Routes
• U.S. Route 91
• U.S. Route 491

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• US-191 endpoint photos

Browse numbered routes
< SR 189	AZ		SR 195 >
< SR-190	UT		SR-193 >
< WYO 190	WY		WYO 191 >
< MT 146	MT		MT 200 >