Skip to main content

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

Image
By

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.

Sources & Links:




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cajon Pass; Cajon Pass Toll Road, National Old Trails Road, US Route 66/91/395 and Interstate 15

By
This past weekend I spent some time in Cajon Pass traversing the many historic road alignments. Cajon Pass is located in San Bernardino County, California along the San Andreas Fault.  Cajon Pass  serves the boundary line between the Mojave Desert, the San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains and San Bernardino Valley.  Cajon Pass is historically one of the most traveled transportation corridors in American California and presently is served by four rail lines, Interstate 15 and California State Route 138. While Cajon Pass is known mostly for carrying US Route 66 it has carried numerous other signed highways that have had a significant impact on regional and national road travel.  While this is my best attempt to compile everything from the best sources I could find into one single transportation history blog regarding road travel in Cajon Pass I suspect as time goes on this article will be frequently updated.  If you have any information that you ...
1 comment
Read more

Pardee Dam Road

By
Pardee Dam is a 358-foot-high concrete structure located near Campo Seco at the Calaveras County and Amador County Line.  Pardee Dam impounds the Mokelumne River which forms the namesake Pardee Reservoir.  Pardee Dam was completed during 1929 and is part of the East Bay Municipal Utility District.  Pardee Dam is accessed by the namesake Pardee Dam Road which crosses the structure via the one-lane road seen as the blog cover photo.   Part 1; the history of Pardee Dam Road The closest community to Pardee Dam is that of Campo Seco on the Calaveras County side of the Mokelumne River.  Campo Seco was founded in 1850 by Mexican Miners who worked placer claims in Oregon Gulch during the height of the California Gold Rush.  Campo Seco would reach a population of about three hundred by 1860 spurred by the numerous mining claims in the area.  Main Street of Campo Seco flowed directly into the Campo Seco Turnpike which had been authorized by the California L...
2 comments
Read more

California State Route 82/Old US Route 101 on the El Camino Real from San Francisco to Interstate 380

By
After completing Interstate 380 I made my way northward into the City Limits of San Francisco to drive the northernmost portion of California State Route 82. CA 82 is 52 mile State Route between I-280 in San Francisco southward to Interstate 880 in San Jose.  CA 82 is significant due to it being part of the historical surface alignment of US Route 101 and the El Camino Real. The "El Camino Real" was a Spanish Highway in Las Californias and Alta California which connected the 21 Catholic Missions along the coast.  Essentially the route of the El Camino Real was plotted out in the late 1700s from two Spanish survey expeditions.  The Missions were plotted approximately 30 miles apart along the 600 mile route so that they would be a single day journey by horse.  The El Camino Real name fell into disuse after the Mexican Revolution of 1821 but was revived by American highway promoters in the 1890s and 1900s.  Today the El Camino Real is mostly associated...
2 comments
Read more