Skip to main content

2016 Fall Mountain Trip Part 9; Interstate 15 through the Virgin River Gorge

By
After returning from Old St. Thomas Road I continued north out of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area onto Nevada State Route 169.  I next took NV 169 northward on Moopa Valley Boulevard to Interstate 15.  My next destination was in Snow Canyon which meant the most direct route through the Virgin River Gorge on I-15.


Part 8 of the 2016 Fall Mountain Trip Series can be found here:

2016 Fall Mountain Trip; Former Nevada State Route 12 on Old St. Thomas Road

NV 169 ends at I-15 exit 93 where I turned north towards Arizona.


On a recent winter trip this year I covered the history of I-15 in Arizona/Virgin River Gorge and how it differs from US Route 91.  The previous blog on the Virgin River Gorge section of I-15 can be found here:

2018 Mojave Desert Road Trip Part 5; Interstate 15 in Arizona

On the previous I-15/Virgin River Gorge blog I noted the following about history of the Interstate in Arizona:

"Unlike US Route 91 which dipped into Utah upstream on the Virgin River the routing of I-15 was constructed through the Virgin River Gorge to save approximately 12 miles.  Despite the canyon depths the Virgin River Gorge was found to have more shallow grades than the alignment of US 91.  I-15 was under construction in Arizona from the early 1960s until it was completed in 1973.  The northwest corner of the Arizona state highway maps in 1961 and 1971 show the progression from US 91 to an almost complete I-15.

1961 Arizona State Highway Map

1971 Arizona State Highway Map

The 2016 Arizona Department of Transportation web map book shows how different the route of I-15 is compared to US 91.

2016 ADOT Map Book"

Ironically my previous blog on the Virgin River Gorge was from I-15 southbound.  In 2016 I was headed the opposite way on northbound I-15 which is every bit as scenic.
















Upon entering Washington County, Utah I pulled off of I-15 onto Utah State Route 18 on Bluff Street in St. George.


Given my next destination was at Snow Canyon State Park I followed UT 18 northward to UT 8 on Sunset Boulevard. 


Part 10 of this blog series can be found here:

2016 Fall Mountain Trip Part 10; UT 8, Snow Canyon, and UT 34

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more