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

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

By
  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

By
From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more