SR-73 (UT)
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State Route 73 (SR-73) is a
state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...
in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
, connecting the Rush, Cedar, and
Utah Valley Utah Valley is a valley in North Central Utah located in Utah County, Utah, Utah County, and is considered part of the Wasatch Front. It contains the cities of Provo, Utah, Provo, Orem, Utah, Orem, and their suburbs, including Alpine, Utah, A ...
s. It is a discontinuous route in two segments; one long segment connecting SR-36 to
Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over ...
, and one short segment within the city of Lehi.


Route description


Western segment

SR-73 begins at an intersection with SR-36 in the
Rush Valley Rush Valley is a long north-trending valley in the southeast of Tooele County, Utah. It lies adjacent to and attached to the south of Tooele Valley; the separation point is the low point of the valley at Rush Lake, and lies at the southeast ...
, northeast of the town of the same name. It heads southeasterly, climbing slightly to the edge of the
Oquirrh Mountains The Oquirrh Mountains ( ) is a mountain range that runs north–south for approximately 30 miles (50 km) to form the west side of Utah's Salt Lake Valley, separating it from Tooele Valley. The range runs from northwestern Utah County– ...
, and then curving between the south end of the range and the Deseret Chemical Depot. When the highway reaches Fivemile Pass, a
wind gap A wind gap (or air gap) is a gap through which a waterway once flowed that is now dry as a result of stream capture. A water gap is a similar feature, but one in which a waterway still flows. Water gaps and wind gaps often provide routes whic ...
between the Oquirrh Mountains and Thorpe Hills, it curves northeast, joining the historic Central Overland Trail (
Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. During its 18 months of opera ...
route) through the pass and descending into the Cedar Valley. At Fairfield, SR-73 curves north, while the old trail continues its northeasterly path as Lehi-Fairfield Road. The route again curves northeast at
Cedar Fort Cedar Fort is a town in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 427 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a tot ...
, crossing the valley and passing between the
Lake Mountains The Lake Mountains (also known as simply Lake Mountain) are a mountain range located on the western edge of the Utah Valley in northwestern Utah County, Utah, United States. The range forms the northwest border of Utah Lake, and its proximity ...
and
Traverse Mountains The Traverse Mountains, or sometimes Traverse Range, are an anomalous, geologically complex, east-trending range that separates Salt Lake Valley and Utah Valley in Salt Lake and Utah counties in the U.S. State of Utah. Point of the Mountain is ...
. The route begins descending into the
Utah Valley Utah Valley is a valley in North Central Utah located in Utah County, Utah, Utah County, and is considered part of the Wasatch Front. It contains the cities of Provo, Utah, Provo, Orem, Utah, Orem, and their suburbs, including Alpine, Utah, A ...
, curving into Pioneer Crossing. The eastern terminus of the western segment occurs at the intersection of Pioneer Crossing and Mountain View Corridor, which is also the western terminus of SR-145 and the southern terminus of SR-85.


Eastern segment

The eastern segment begins in Lehi, at the intersection of 850 East and Main Street. The route proceeds east on Main Street, crossing
Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the Western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Ca ...
before coming to its eastern terminus at
US-89 U.S. Route 89 (US 89) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway with two sections, and one former section. The southern section runs for from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The northern sectio ...
.
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street maps and
USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...
topographic map In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but histori ...
s, accessed July 2008 vi
ACME Mapper
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History

The state legislature defined State Route 73 in 1933, running from SR-68 (created in 1931) west of Lehi southwest via
Cedar Fort Cedar Fort is a town in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 427 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a tot ...
, Fairfield and Topliff to SR-36. Up until Fivemile Pass, beyond Fairfield, this followed the present route of SR-73, but at Fivemile Pass the route curved southwesterly, generally following the former Fairfield Branch of the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
. Two years later, the portion west of Fairfield was dropped, in favor of a routing south from Fairfield to SR-26 (now US-6) near
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. State Route 180 was also created in 1935, beginning at SR-36 south of Stockton and heading east through Ophir Canyon to
Ophir Ophir (; ) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. Its existence is attested to by an inscribed pottery shard found at Tell Qasile (in modern-day Tel Aviv) in 1946, dating to the eighth century BC, which reads "''go ...
and southeast through the
Oquirrh Mountains The Oquirrh Mountains ( ) is a mountain range that runs north–south for approximately 30 miles (50 km) to form the west side of Utah's Salt Lake Valley, separating it from Tooele Valley. The range runs from northwestern Utah County– ...
to Mercur. State Route 202 was defined in 1939 as an eastern approach to Mercur, splitting off SR-73 north of Fairfield and climbing Manning Canyon, and in 1941 the portion of SR-180 between Ophir and Mercur was removed from the state highway system, with an extension of SR-202 west down Mercur Canyon to SR-180 replacing it. SR-73 was realigned again in 1945, turning southwest between Cedar Fort and Fairfield, absorbing the beginning of SR-202, and continuing southwest to a point between Fairfield and Fivemile Pass. The remainder of the route followed its present alignment to SR-36, replacing the portions of SR-202 and SR-180 that lay outside the canyons in the
Rush Valley Rush Valley is a long north-trending valley in the southeast of Tooele County, Utah. It lies adjacent to and attached to the south of Tooele Valley; the separation point is the low point of the valley at Rush Lake, and lies at the southeast ...
. The part of former SR-73 from Fairfield north to the junction south of Cedar Fort became State Route 191, while the part south of Fairfield was given to the county. SR-202 was cut back to only the portion in Mercur Canyon, with the Manning Canyon piece dropped. Finally, a connection from the Deseret Chemical Depot north to SR-73 near its west end, constructed with
federal aid A subsidy, subvention or government incentive is a type of government expenditure for individuals and households, as well as businesses with the aim of stabilizing the economy. It ensures that individuals and households are viable by having acce ...
in 1942,
Utah Department of Transportation The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is an agency of the state government of Utah, United States; it is usually referred to by its initials UDOT (pronounced "you-dot"). UDOT is responsible for approximately 5,900 miles (9,495 kilomet ...

Highway Resolutions
:  , updated November 2007, accessed May 2008
was numbered State Route 198. In short, SR-73 now connected SR-36 to SR-68, with four spurs from west to east: SR-198 to the chemical depot, SR-180 to Ophir, SR-202 to Mercur, and SR-191 to Fairfield. Over the next two decades, all four spurs disappeared. The first two to go were SR-191 and SR-202, both eliminated in 1953. This completely removed Mercur from the state highway system, but Fairfield was kept by moving SR-73 to its current alignment through that community.
Utah Department of Transportation The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is an agency of the state government of Utah, United States; it is usually referred to by its initials UDOT (pronounced "you-dot"). UDOT is responsible for approximately 5,900 miles (9,495 kilomet ...

Highway Resolutions
:  , updated December 2015, accessed July 2018
SR-180 was eliminated in 1961,
Utah Department of Transportation The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is an agency of the state government of Utah, United States; it is usually referred to by its initials UDOT (pronounced "you-dot"). UDOT is responsible for approximately 5,900 miles (9,495 kilomet ...

Highway Resolutions
:  , updated November 2007, accessed May 2008
and SR-198 was deleted in 1969. Due to a southerly extension of SR-68 in 1960, splitting at the SR-73 intersection, the portion of SR-68 into Lehi was renumbered as an extension of SR-73, which gained its current length at that time. In 2011, in conjunction with the building of the Pioneer Crossing ( SR-145) extension, the segment on Crossroads Boulevard between SR-68 and 850 East in Lehi was removed from the state highway system, which made SR-73 a discontinuous route. The route was further relinquished in 2015, with the segment between SR-68 and SR-145 turned back to the city of
Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over ...
.


Major intersections


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:State Route 073 073 073 073 Central Overland Route Lehi, Utah Wind gaps of the United States