US-50 (UT)
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U.S. Route 50 (US-50) in
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 ...
crosses the center of the state. The highway serves no major population centers in Utah, with the largest city along its path being
Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...
. Most of the route passes through desolate, remote areas. Through the eastern half of the state the route is concurrent with
Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...
(I-70). US-50 both enters and exits Utah concurrent with US-6, however the two routes are separate through the center of the state. Three completely different routings of US-50 have existed between Green River and
Ely, Nevada Ely (, ) is the largest city and county seat of White Pine County, Nevada, United States. Ely was founded as a stagecoach station along the Pony Express and Central Overland Route. In 1906 copper was discovered. Ely's mining boom came later tha ...
. The route between these cities has become progressively shorter as new roads have been paved through this largely uninhabited region of both states. The earlier routings were a result of a dispute between Utah and Nevada over which
auto trail The system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on utility poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in t ...
s would be paved and converted to U.S. Highways.


Route description

The highway enters Utah from Nevada in a desolate portion of the
Great Basin Desert The Great Basin Desert is part of the Great Basin between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Range in the western United States. The desert is a geographical region that largely overlaps the Great Basin shrub steppe defined by the World Wildlife ...
. Similar to many portions of the route in Nevada, there are multiple stretches without any motorist services. There are no services between the state line and the small farming village of
Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughborough, and is about halfway between L ...
, just outside of
Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...
, a span of roadway that is about . While passing through the Great Basin the highway crosses two mountain ranges, the Confusion Range via King's Canyon, and House Range via Skull Rock Pass, before arriving at the shore of
Sevier Lake Sevier Lake is an intermittent and endorheic lake which lies in the lowest part of the Sevier Desert, Millard County, Utah, United States. Like Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake, it is a remnant of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville. Sevier Lake is fed p ...
, an intermittent lake fed by snow melt from many mountain ranges in the eastern half of the Great Basin. The highway follows the north shore of Sevier Lake and the
Sevier River The Sevier River (pronounced "severe") is a -long river in the Great Basin of southwestern Utah in the United States. Originating west of Bryce Canyon National Park, the river flows north through a chain of high farming valleys and steep canyon ...
towards
Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...
. Today much of the water in the Sevier river is diverted for agricultural use before reaching the lake, and rarely is significant water visible in the lake. The scenery changes as US-50 approaches Delta, where
U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6) or U.S. Highway 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the United States Numbered Highway System. While it ...
and 50 separate. As the road approaches Delta, a straight passage across desert becomes
zigzag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...
s through farming areas. The highway continues to zigzag through farms until arriving at more mountainous terrain at
Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was ...
. At Holden, the highway merges with
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 ...
to cross the
Pavant Range The Pahvant Range (also Pavant Range) is a mountain range in central Utah, United States, east of Fillmore. Description The range is named for the Pahvant tribe, a branch of the Ute people. The tallest peaks are Pioneer Peak at , Mine Camp Pea ...
via Scipio Summit. After passing the mountains, US-50 then separates from this freeway as again a two lane road passing through desolate territory towards Salina where the road joins with
Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...
. The two highways run concurrent from this point east to
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
. Yet again, there is a stretch of highway long without services from Salina to Green River. While co-routed with I-70, US-50 crosses the
Wasatch Plateau The Wasatch Plateau is a plateau located southeast of the southernmost part of the Wasatch Range in central Utah. It is a part of the Colorado Plateau. Geography The plateau has an elevation of and includes an area of . Its highest point is So ...
and passes through the
San Rafael Swell The San Rafael Swell is a large geologic feature located in south-central Utah, United States about west of Green River. Measuring approximately , the swell consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone that wa ...
. The construction of I-70 through the swell is noted as one of the engineering marvels of the
Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...
. One specific feat, the excavation through a portion called Spotted Wolf Canyon, required excavating of rock to have a bed for just of roadway. Construction workers noted that prior to the construction of the freeway a man could stand in this canyon and touch both sides of the canyon wall. US-6 rejoins US-50 near Green River. The three routes run concurrent and follow the southern edge of the
Book Cliffs The Book Cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in western Colorado and eastern Utah in the Western United States. They are so named because the cliffs of Cretaceous sandstone capping many of the south-facing buttes appear simila ...
to
Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and largest city of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Grand Junction's population was 65,560 at the 2020 United St ...
. Once again, services are not present from Thompson Springs to
Fruita, Colorado Fruita () is a home rule municipality located in western Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 13,395 at the 2020 United States census. Fruita is a part of the Grand Junction, Colorado Metropolitan Statistical Area and ...
, a span of about . This portion of US-50 is part of the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway, a
National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...
. The name of the byway comes from the large number of areas along the route with visible dinosaur remains. The entire route through the state, as well as the concurrencies with I-15 and I-70, is included in the National Highway System.


Photos

US Route 50 Between Delta, Utah and Nevada Border.jpg, US-50 and US-6 between Nevada border and Delta I70 at San Rafael swell-Green River.jpg, I-70 (and US-50) routed through Spotted Wolf Canyon Skull Rock Pass.JPG, US-50 descending from Skull Rock Pass in western Utah Us50 sr64 split i1488.jpg, Eastbound US 50 arrives at a T-intersection at the edge of Holden and turns left, and the SR-64 is to the right (May 2020) Us50 sr64 splitbgs i1484.jpg, Signage at the T-intersection in Holden. To the right is SR-64, but the BGS simply points the way to Interstate 15 (May 2020)


History

The modern route of U.S. Route 50 between
Ely, Nevada Ely (, ) is the largest city and county seat of White Pine County, Nevada, United States. Ely was founded as a stagecoach station along the Pony Express and Central Overland Route. In 1906 copper was discovered. Ely's mining boom came later tha ...
and
Green River, Utah Green River is a city in Emery County, Utah, United States. The population was 847 at the 2020 census. History The city of Green River is located on ancestral Ute lands, in the home locale of the Seuvarits/Sheberetch band of Ute people. The ...
is the third iteration.


First iteration

In 1926, when the U.S. Highway system was first announced, there was a gap in US-50 between Ely and
Thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterized by leaves with sharp spikes on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. T ...
. At the time the states of Utah and Nevada were feuding about which of the old
auto trail The system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on utility poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in t ...
s would be paved and used for the new
U.S. Highway System The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...
. Nevada favored the
Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...
, which the modern US-50 closely follows in that state. Utah refused to consider the Lincoln Highway west of
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
. Officials perceived that route would carry all California bound traffic directly to Nevada while passing through very few communities in Utah. Utah instead favored the
Victory Highway The Victory Highway was an auto trail across the United States between New York City and San Francisco, roughly equivalent to the present U.S. Route 40. It was created by the Victory Highway Association, which was organized in 1921 to locate and ...
(modern
Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...
west of Salt Lake) and the Arrowhead Trail (modern
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 ...
). By favoring these routes Utah could force travelers destined for southern California to use a different route than those destined for northern California, with both of these traversing through more cities in Utah than the Lincoln Highway. The Arrowhead trail was especially beneficial to Utah as it passed through many communities in the state, but only
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
in Nevada. Utah prevailed and US-50 did not continue to follow the Lincoln Highway to Salt Lake City as Nevada had wanted. The first continuous route of US-50 across eastern Nevada and western Utah was an arch shaped route. US-50 proceeded north from Ely along what is now numbered
U.S. Route 93 U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major north–south U.S. Numbered Highway in the western United States, that connects U.S. Route 60 (US 60) in Wickenburg, Arizona, with British Columbia Highway 93 at the Canadian border (north of ...
and Alternate US-93 where the highway would merge with the
Victory Highway The Victory Highway was an auto trail across the United States between New York City and San Francisco, roughly equivalent to the present U.S. Route 40. It was created by the Victory Highway Association, which was organized in 1921 to locate and ...
(
U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America (a nickname shared with U.S. Route 66), is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid- ...
along the
Wendover Cut-off The Wendover Cut-off, also called the Wendover Road or Wendover Route, is a two-lane highway in the western part of Tooele County, Utah, Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. Stretching from Wendover, UT, Wendover to Knolls, Utah, Knolls acr ...
, since replaced by I-80) to Salt Lake. From there the highway returned to Green River via what is now numbered State Route 201,
U.S. Route 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 ...
and
U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6) or U.S. Highway 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the United States Numbered Highway System. While it ...
.


Second iteration

The second iteration has its origins with the formation of US-6. In 1937, US-6 was extended west from its former terminus at
Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States census, an increase of 17.12% since the ...
to
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
. In eastern Utah the route used the existing alignment of US-50. However, in western Utah the route used an unpaved road through Delta reconnecting with US-50 in Ely. In 1953, US-50 was approved to use this shorter alignment with the older US-50 alignment designated as U.S. Route 50 Alternate. Nevada first showed this alignment as paved and signed as US 50 in their 1954 map. With this change, US-6/50 ran concurrent from Ely to
Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and largest city of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Grand Junction's population was 65,560 at the 2020 United St ...
. The paved version did not exactly follow the unpaved roads. The dirt route passed through the numerous mountain ranges of the
Great Basin The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...
using Marjum canyon and Marjum Pass to and through the
Tule Valley Tule Valley (also known as White Valley) is a valley in Millard County, Utah, United States. Description The valley is a north-south trending endorheic valley within the Great Basin (geographically), Great Basin Desert (ecologically), and Bas ...
. Once paved, the route was relocated to follow the north shore of
Sevier Lake Sevier Lake is an intermittent and endorheic lake which lies in the lowest part of the Sevier Desert, Millard County, Utah, United States. Like Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake, it is a remnant of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville. Sevier Lake is fed p ...
, which reduced the number of mountain ranges crossed. Although US-50 was moved to yet another alignment, this route remains US-6 today.


Third iteration

The modern route of US-50 was created in 1976. This iteration of US-50 has its origins in a dispute over the route of
Interstate 70 in Utah Interstate 70 (I-70) is a mainline route of the Interstate Highway System in the United States connecting Utah and Maryland. The Utah section runs east–west for approximately across the central part of the state. Richfield is the larg ...
. While I-70 was in the planning stage Colorado lobbied for an extension of the original proposal to run across Colorado and into Utah. Utah supported an extension using then US-6/50 to connect
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
with Salt Lake City. However, federal planners did not see value in this route and instead supported a route that could be used to connect Denver with
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. I-70 was built using the federally selected route. In 1976, US-50 was changed again to a routing mostly concurrent with I-70. The portion of modern US-50 between Delta and Scipio had been previously numbered State Route 26, and the portion between Scipio and Salina had been numbered State Route 63, with the SR-63 portion being transferred to SR-26 in 1971. East of Green River I-70 closely follows the original route of US-50, with some minor straightening by Crescent Junction,
Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, s ...
, and Westwater.


Major intersections


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Route 50 In Utah Utah 50 Transportation in Millard County, Utah Transportation in Sevier County, Utah Transportation in Emery County, Utah Transportation in Grand County, Utah