 State Route 9 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zion Park Scenic Byway | ||||
 SR-9 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byUDOT | ||||
| Length | 57.075 mi[1] (91.853 km) | |||
| Existed | 1920s as SR-15; renumbered in 1977–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  I-15 inWashington | |||
| Major intersections |  SR-17 inLa Verkin | |||
| East end |  US 89 atMt. Carmel Junction | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Utah | |||
| Counties | Washington,Kane | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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State Route 9 (SR-9) is a 57.075-mile-long (91.853 km)state highway in southernUtah, servingZion National Park. It starts at the western terminus at exit 16 onInterstate 15 (I-15), passing through Zion National Park, and ending at the eastern junction withU.S. Route 89 (US-89). The entire length of the highway has been designated theZion Park Scenic Byway.[2] There is a fee to travel through Zion National Park, but the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway is open to private vehicles year-round. A separate fee is required for vehicles 7'10" wide and/or 11'4" tall or larger. This fee pays for a park employee to stop traffic from the other side of theZion - Mt. Carmel Tunnel to allow the larger vehicles to pass through.[3] There is a smaller tunnel in Zion National Park that does not require an escort. Commercial vehicles are prohibited from using SR-9[4] and are directed to useSR-20 instead.
The entire route, including the connection through Zion National Park, has been listed as part of theNational Highway System.[5]
SR-9 begins at I-15, Exit 16, atHarrisburg Junction, just north ofWashington. Immediately upon exiting I-15, SR-9 enters the Coral Canyon Development, which features an 18-hole golf course. Coral Canyon is split by the city boundaries ofHurricane andWashington. Upon leaving this development, SR-9 passes through two ridges and begins its descent into the aptly named Purgatory Flats, home of the County Fairgrounds and a penitentiary. The 'flats' are a relatively level area between two sharply defined ridges.Quail Creek State Park lies about a mile to the north of the road between these two ridges. Upon passing through the second ridge, SR-9 crosses theVirgin River and climbs a small plateau to the region ofHurricane known as Brentwood. The road descends from this plateau into downtownHurricane, whereSR-59 splits to the south toward the Arizona border. SR-9 then swings north towards the town ofLa Verkin, crossing an old bridge over the La Verkin River Ravine, before entering that town. InLa Verkin,SR-17 takes off to the north, where it meets back up withI-15. After leaving La Verkin, SR-9 heads uphill and passes severalmesas before eventually going through the small towns ofVirgin,Rockville, andSpringdale.
This scenic section of SR-9 twists and turns along 14 miles (23 km) throughZion National Park and then another 12 miles toMount Carmel Junction. This section of the road is called theZion-Mount Carmel Highway and the section through the park is effectively a toll road requiring park access fees. The highway begins on the south side ofZion National Park following along the North Fork of the Virgin River. The road then turns at the junction of Pine Creek and the North Fork of the Virgin River and continues up Pine Creek Canyon, up the switchbacks and into the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel. On the east side of the tunnel the highway continues through impressive scenery, past the Canyon Overlook Trailhead, the East Rim Trailhead and the unique Zion landmark,Checkerboard Mesa. Finally the road exits the park through the east entrance and 12 miles (19 km) later ends at the junction of SR-9 andUS-89 in Mount Carmel Junction.
The road fromHurricane north throughLa Verkin toUS-91 atAnderson Junction was added to the state highway system in 1912, and a branch was added fromLa Verkin Junction east toZion National Park in 1916 and beyond toMt. Carmel Junction in 1923.[6][7]
In the 1920s, theState Road Commission assignedState Route 15 to the road from Anderson Junction to the park, whileState Route 16 included the branch to Hurricane (and continued southeast toArizona via presentSR-59).[8] In 1927, the state legislature extended SR-15 through the park to Mt. Carmel Junction, and added a newState Route 17, which formed a cutoff from US-91 atHarrisburg Junction east to Hurricane.
SR-17 also included SR-16 from Hurricane north to La Verkin Junction and southeast toBig Plain Junction, where the realigned SR-16 turned north to SR-15 atRockville.[9] The portion of SR-17 from Hurricane to Big Plain Junction was split off asSR-59 in 1931,[10] leaving SR-15 and SR-17 as a loop off US-91 through Hurricane and La Verkin, with SR-15 continuing east through Zion National Park.
Construction began through and east of the national park in 1927, on the portion that had been added to the state highway system in 1923 and to SR-15 in 1927.[6] TheNevada Construction Company completed theZion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel in 1930, after three years of construction and a cost of $1,896,000.[3] SR-15 and SR-17 were swapped in 1969, giving SR-15 the route from Harrisburg Junction and SR-17its present route. In the1977 renumbering, SR-15 was renumbered SR-9 due to the existence ofInterstate 15.[6][7][11]
The1992 St. George earthquake destroyed three houses as well as above- and below-ground utilities, causing about $1 million in damage.[12][13] In the Balanced Rock Hills area of Springdale, alandslide covered part of SR-9, taking several hours to complete movement.[13] The slide was about 1,600 feet (490 m) long and 3,600 feet (1,100 m) wide, contained boulders up to 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter, with a total volume of 18,000,000 cubic yards (14,000,000 m3) and total area of 4,400,400 square feet (408,810 m2).[13][14]
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Washington–Hurricane line | 0.000 | 0.000 | I-15 –Las Vegas,Cedar City,Salt Lake | Western terminus; exit 16 on I-15;trumpet interchange |
| 0.512 | 0.824 | Coral Canyon Boulevard | Interchange | ||
| Hurricane | 1.107 | 1.782 | Telegraph Street | FormerUS-91 | |
| 2.766 | 4.451 |   SR-318 north –Quail Creek State Park | Southern terminus of SR-318 | ||
  SR-7 west (Southern Parkway) | Interchange | ||||
| 9.776 | 15.733 |   SR-59 east (Main Street) –Grand Canyon | Western terminus of SR-59 | ||
| La Verkin | 12.458 | 20.049 | SR-17 north (State Street) –Toquerville | Southern terminus of SR-17 | |
| Rockville | 28.102 | 45.226 | Bridge Road (Rockville Bridge) | FormerSR-16 | |
| Zion National Park | 34.2 | 55.0 | Floor of the Valley Road | ||
| Kane | Mt. Carmel Junction | 57.075 | 91.853 | US 89 –Kanab,Mt. Carmel,Panguitch | Eastern terminus |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
15. From Anderson's southeasterly via Toquerville, La Verkin, and Rockville Junction to Zion National Park also from Zion National Park to Mt. Carmel Junction. / 16. From Rockville southerly via Big Plain Junction to the Utah-Arizona State line, near Short Creek, Arizona. / 17. From Harrisburg Bench easterly to Hurricane and La Verkin, and from Hurricane easterly to Big Plain Junction.
(59) From Hurricane on route 17 southeasterly to Big Plain junction, on route 16.
