Utah State Route 18

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State Route 18
Legacy Loop Highway
Defined by Utah Code §72-4-107, maintained by UDOT
Length: 51.005 mi[1] (82.085 km)
Formed: 1918[2]
South end: I-15 in St. George
Major
junctions:		 SR-34 in St. George
SR-8 in St. George
SR-219 in Enterprise
North end: SR-56 at Beryl Junction
State Routes in Utah
< SR-17 SR-19 >

State Route 18 (SR-18) is a state highway in southern Utah, running for 51.005 miles in Washington and Iron Counties from St. George to Beryl Junction near Toquerville. It forms part of the Legacy Loop Highway from St. George to Parowan.[3] The highway closely follows the route of the Old Spanish Trail through Dixie National Forest.

Contents

[edit] Route description

[edit] St. George to Veyo

SR-18 begins at a frontage road just south of an interchange with I-15 in southern St. George and heads north through the west side of the city. It continues north through Snow Canyon State Park and continues northwest through Wide Canyon to Dammeron Valley and past Veyo Volcano. It then turns north into Veyo, running through the center of the town.[1]

[edit] Veyo to Beryl Junction

SR-18 leaves Veyo heading northeast to Central, then continues north and northwest through mountainous terrain in the Dixie National Forest past the Mountain Meadows Massacre site and continues into Enterprise. It turns northeast in eastern Enterprise, then turns north through farmland outside of the town to Beryl Junction, where it ends at an intersection with SR-54.

[edit] History

The highway closely follows the route of the Old Spanish Trail through the extreme corner of southwestern Utah.[4] This portion of the trail is known for the 1857 Mountain Meadows massacre, a controversial event in both Utah and Mormon history which occurred just off the route of what is now route 18.

SR-18 was commissioned in 1918, generally along the current route. In 1953, the southern terminus was designated the former SR-1 (U.S. Route 91) in St. George. In 1969, 1.084 miles was transferred from the former SR-1 to SR-18, extending the southern terminus to SR-34. In 1975, the section of SR-34 between SR-18 and I-15 was transferred to SR-18.[2]

[edit] Major Intersections

County Location Mile Roads intersected Notes
Washington Saint George 0.000[1] Frontage Road Southern terminus
0.043-0.289 I-15 – Las Vegas, Salt Lake City
2.103 SR-34 east (Saint George Boulevard)
3.181 SR-8 west (Sunset Boulevard) – Santa Clara
Enterprise 40.338 SR-219 west (Main Street)
Iron Beryl Junction 51.005 SR-56 – Modena, Cedar City Northern terminus

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c UDOT Highway Reference, SR-18
  2. ^ a b Route 18. Utah Department of Transportation.
  3. ^ Utah Highways, SR-18
  4. ^ Utah Travel Council. Southwestern Utah Multipurpose Map [map], 1:250000, 5 of 8. Cartography by AAA Engineering and Drafting. (1978) Section B4.