Skip to main content

Ghost Town Tuesday; Utah State Route 128, Dewey, and the Old Dewey Bridge

Back in 2015 I was visiting Moab, Utah for some hiking.  On my way out of town I was heading eastward into Colorado.  Conventional fair travel would have me on US Route 191 north to I-70 east into Colorado.  I was in the mood for something a little more remote and took Utah State Route 128 from Moab along the Colorado River through the Dewey ghost town to I-70.


UT 128 is a 44.56 mile State Highway located entirely in Grand County running eastward from US 191 to I-70 near the ghost town of Cisco.  UT 128 largely follows the narrow canyons of the Colorado River before splitting away towards Old US 50/6 near Cisco to I-70.  UT 128 is often cited to dating back to being created in 1933, the highway can be seen on this 1950 Utah State Highway Map.

1950 State Highway Map

Heading east from Moab UT 128 follows the south bank of the Colorado River.  The Fisher Towers can be seen from UT 128 at the junction of Fisher Towers Road.  The Fisher Towers is formation of several large sandstone columns with the largest being the "Titan" at approximately 900 feet high.


At UT 128 mile marker 30 the highway crosses to the north bank of the Colorado River at the former town site Dewey which was first occupied in the 1880s as ferry crossing.


Next to the modern crossing the Old Dewey Bridge which was completed in 1916.  The Old Dewey Bridge is identical to the Cameron Bridge (albeit shorter) which used to carry US Route 89 over the Little Colorado River in Arizona.  At the time of it's completion the Old Dewey Bridge was the second longest suspension bridge in the western United States after the Cameron Bridge.

The Old Dewey Bridge was replaced by the modern span in 1988.  In 2000 the Old Dewey Bridge was restored but it was burned down accidentally by a child in 2008.  Despite the wooden road deck of the Old Dewey Bridge being burned the cables and suspension span still remain floating over the Colorado River.




Today there isn't much left of Dewey aside from a derelict gas station off to the side of UT 128.


East of Dewey the route of UT 128 swings north towards Cisco and Old US 50/6 just to the west of the Cisco ghost town.  UT 128 swings briefly westward on Old US 50/6 to I-70 Exit 204.  Previously I wrote about Old US 50/6 and the Cisco ghost town which can be found here:

Ghost Town Tuesday; Cisco, UT and Old US 50/6

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bridgeport Covered Bridge

The Bridgeport Covered Bridge is a historic crossing of the South Fork Yuba River located in Nevada County, California near Nevada City.  The Bridgeport Covered Bridge opened as a tolled crossing during 1862 as part of the larger Henness Pass Road.  The Bridgeport Covered Bridge closed to vehicle traffic during 1972 and was recently restored during 2021.  The Bridgeport Covered Bridge is historically California's longest covered span is thought to likely be the longest such structure surviving in the world.  Featured as the blog cover is the Bridgeport Covered Bridge during 1950 when it was an active part of Pleasant Valley Road.   The history of the Bridgeport Covered Bridge The history of Bridgeport Covered Bridge was featured in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works .  Bridgeport Covered Bridge was constructed during 1862 over the South Fork Yuba River.  The Bridgeport Covered Bridge served as part of the Virginia Turnpike Company maintained Henness Pass Roa

Former California State Route 215

  California State Route 215 was a short-lived state highway which existed in the Los Angeles Metropolitain area after the 1964 State Highway Renumbering.  California State Route 215 was aligned from US Route 60 at 5th Street in Pomona north to US Route 66 near Claremont via Garey Avenue.  California State Route 215 came to be after California State Route 71 was bisected in Pomona due to relinquishment of a portion of Garey Avenue due to the opening of a portion of the Corona Freeway (now Chino Valley Freeway) during 1958.  California State Route 215 was deleted by the Legislature during 1965. The history of California State Route 215 The initial segment of what was to become California State Route 215 was added to the State Highway System as part of the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act.  The First State Highway Bond Act defined what would become  Legislative Route Number 19  (LRN 19) as running from Claremont to Riverside.  The segment of LRN 19 between Claremont and Pomona would in

US Route 70 over San Augustin Pass

San Augustin Pass is a gap in the Organ Mountains, San Augustin Mountains and San Andres in Dona Ana County east of Las Cruces.  San Augustin Pass lies an elevation of approximately 5,600 feet above sea level and was originally traversed by New Mexico State Route 3.  US Route 70 would be realigned over San Augustin Pass during 1934 when it was extended to Los Angeles, California.  During 1963 US Route 82 would be extended through San Augustin Pass to Las Cruces.  Since the early the early 1990s signage of US Route 82 has been withdrawn to Alamogordo.  San Augustin Pass and US Route 70 are largely known for the numerous closures due to test firings originating from the White Sands Missile Range.   Part 1; the history of highway designations over San Augustin Pass San Augustin Pass traditionally has been the easiest from the Rio Grande in Las Cruces east to the Tularosa Basin.  The terrain conditions at San Augustin Pass allowed for an easy crossing in the gap between the Organ Mountains