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The history of the short-lived Interstate 82S (and N)

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The early days of the Interstate Highway System were marked by significant changes and political maneuvering.  The short history of Interstate 82S (and 82N) is an overlooked example.  Born in 1957 during the original Interstate numbering plans, Interstates 82N and S, as well as their parent Interstate 82, were to run from Interstate 15 in Idaho (I-82N) and Utah (I-82S), respectively, to Interstate 5 in Portland, Oregon.

The original (August 1957) approved Interstate system numbering.  These 'paper' designations would last less than a year as new corridors and some politicking would make changes, specifically to the Western I-82 and its two branches I-82N and I-82S.  There was an eastern I-82 proposed via a Scranton to New York City Corridor.

Interstate 82 would split east of Heyburn, Idaho, with the north branch, I-82N, running to I-15 in Pocatello.  The southern branch (I-82S) would run southeast to I-15 near Tremonton, UT.  Yet, almost a year later, I-82 and I-82S would be replaced by Interstate 80N and I-82N with Interstate 15W.  And Interstate 82 would find its designation moved to an entirely new corridor. What happened?

The modern-day junction of Interstate 84 and 86 in rural Idaho.  According to the original Interstate numbering plan, this would be where I-82 split into Interstate 82N (towards Pocatello) and Interstate 82S (towards Salt Lake).  Photo by Doug Kerr - May 2025.

First, in late 1957, additional mileage to the Interstate highway system was allocated and awarded.  A roughly 40-mile corridor connecting Interstate 15 in South Ogden to Interstate 80 at Echo Junction was added to the system.  This could be seen as linking the Interstate 82 system with Interstate 80 - a direct line from Oregon, Idaho, and Northern Utah to one of the major new East-West Interstate corridors.

And that's where a push to rename Interstate 82 and its branches to Interstate 80N comes into play.  Officials in both Idaho and Oregon felt snubbed that they would no longer be part of a coast-to-coast route.  Opponents to the Interstate 82 designation, which included Idaho Governor Robert E. Smylie, referred to the fact that the new Interstate 82 was replacing the Atlantic-to-Pacific US 30 and that Interstate 82 was not a transcontinental route, referring to the main trunk line as Interstate 80 to the south. (1)  

Oregon showed off their new I-82 
shields in early 1958, but state
leaders hated the number. (2)
Calling the Interstate 82 designation "...not sound, nor will it be conducive to public interest" (1) and "...unwarranted discrimination against the Northwest," (2) Smylie, the Oregon-Washington-Idaho Chamber of Commerce Managers Association, and other communities lobbied the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) to make a change. 

Congressman Al Ullman of Oregon's 2nd Congressional District proposed in a letter to AASHO on March 4, 1958, "...a solution to the problem, the re-designation of Highway 80 west of the division point in Utah.  Thus two routes of equal status could be designated, one as Highway 80 North to Portland and Astoria and one as Highway 80 South to San Francisco." (3)

In July of 1958, it happened.  AASHO changed the designation of Interstate 82S and Interstate 82 from Echo Junction, UT to Portland as Interstate 80N. (4) Interstate 82N would become Interstate 15W.  

Further, Interstate 82 would find a new home.  A new 144-mile interstate corridor from Pendleton, Oregon to Ellensburg, Washington, was added in the Autumn of 1957.  That new two-state highway would be assigned Interstate 82.

The changes to the former Interstate 82 corridors weren't finished yet.  By the 1970s, many motorists and state highway agencies were frustrated with the suffixed interstate routes.  Motorist confusion on whether to stay on Interstate 80 or Interstate 80N, among other split routes, led AASHO to change many of these designations to individual numbers.  In 1977, after negotiations between them, the three states of Oregon, Idaho, and Utah agreed to change Interstate 80N to Interstate 84.  The conversion was complete by 1980 and has not changed to this day.

Possibly the only I-82S shield ever seen.  Utah had begun construction on a 5.6-mile section of Interstate 82S (now Interstate 84) from Howell to Rattlesnake Pass when the highway's designation changed to Interstate 80-N. (5)

While Interstate 82S was short-lived, it was around long enough for Utah in late 1957/early 1958 to award construction projects for the route.  Although it wasn't signed, Interstate 82S was around just enough to have a shield used in a newspaper graphic.

The lifespan of Interstate 82, 82N, and 82S was less than one year.  Yet, its brief history shows that one single number can hold significant influence.

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