U.S. Route 40 in Utah

infobox road
state=UT
type=US
route=40
section=107
maint=UDOT
length_mi=174.624
length_ref=
length_round=3
established=1926
direction_a=West
terminus_a=jct|state=UT|I|80 at Silver Creek Junction (north of Park City)
junction=jct|state=UT|US|189 in Heber City
jct|state=UT|US|191 in Duchesne
jct|state=UT|US|191 in Vernal
direction_b=North
terminus_b=jct|state=CO|US|40 at the Colorado state line (west of Dinosaur, CO)
previous_type=SR
previous_route=39
next_type=SR
next_route=42The west end of U.S. Route 40 is in the U.S. state of Utah at Silver Creek Junction (about 20.7 miles west of Salt Lake City) with Interstate 80. From there it heads southeast through Heber City and east into Colorado on its way to the Mid-Atlantic.

Route description

History

As with most states, US-40 follows the Victory Highway through Utah. This auto trail was organized in 1921, and overlapped the older Lincoln Highway through Salt Lake City. To the west, it split from the Lincoln at Mills Junction, and took a straight path across the Great Salt Lake Desert on the proposed Wendover Cut-off to Nevada. The east split with the Lincoln was at Kimball Junction, where the Victory turned to the southeast over an old trail that led past Heber City, over Daniels Pass, and along the Strawberry River and Duchesne River to Fort Robidoux. The highway continued east across a relatively flat area through Vernal to Colorado. [Froiseth, B.A.M., [http://www.davidrumsey.com/detail?id=1-1-1749-200039 Map of the Territory of Utah] , 1870] Rand McNally Auto Road Atlas, 1926, accessed via the [http://www.broermapsonline.org/members/ Broer Map Library] ]

The Utah State Road Commission took over the highway from Kimball Junction to Colorado in 1910 and 1911,Utah Department of Transportation, [http://www.udot.utah.gov/download.php/tid=1348/SR-006.pdf Route 6] history, updated September 2005] and assigned the State Route 6 designation to this route by the mid-1920s. (The rest of the Victory Highway, west to Nevada, was part of State Route 4, which continued northeast from Kimball Junction to Wyoming, and was taken over west of Kimball Junction from 1910 to 1915.Utah Department of Transportation, [http://www.udot.utah.gov/download.php/tid=1348/SR-004.pdf Route 4] history, updated September 2005] ) In late 1926, the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) assigned US-40 to this cross-state route, consisting of most of SR-4 and all of SR-6. in 1977.)

The old Lincoln Highway east of Kimball Junction was initially US-530, but in the late 1930s it became part of US-189.Fact|date=July 2007 The split between US-40 and US-189, formerly the junction of the Victory and Lincoln Highways, was moved east from Kimball Junction to Silver Creek Junction in 1952; this change moved both routes to a new road between Keetley Junction and Silver Creek Junction, and renumbered the road between Kimball and Silver Creek Junctions from US-189 to US-40. The old road between Keetley and Kimball Junctions became State Route 248.Utah Department of Transportation, [http://www.udot.utah.gov/download.php/tid=1348/SR-248.pdf Route 248] history, updated December 2005] In 1974, with its replacement - Interstate 80 - almost complete across California, Nevada, and Utah, the three states applied to AASHO to truncate US-40 to Silver Creek Junction. (US-40 had been removed west of Truckee, California in 1964.) AASHO approved the truncation on June 17, 1975.Utah Department of Transportation, [http://www.udot.utah.gov/download.php/tid=1348/SR-040.pdf Route 40] history, updated October 2005]

After a bypass of Myton was built, the old routeFact|date=July 2008 along Main and Sixth Streets became State Route 252 in 1953. [cite UTSR law|year=1953|quote=Route 252. From route 6 west of Myton via Myton Main Street to route 6.] It was given to the city in 1969.Utah Department of Transportation, [http://www.udot.utah.gov/main/f?p=100:pg:5285268476414239680:::1:T,V:1348, Highway Resolutions] : PDFlink|1= [http://www.udot.utah.gov/main/uconowner.gf?n=72397126510479164 Route 252] |2=2.54 MB, updated November 2007, accessed May 2008]

Realignments

Major intersections

References