 U.S. Route 191 | |
|---|---|
 US 191 highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Auxiliary route ofUS 91 | |
| Length | 1,544.54 mi[1][2][3][4] (2,485.70 km) |
| Existed | 1926–present |
| Major junctions | |
| South end |  SR 80 inDouglas, AZ |
| Major intersections | |
| North end |  Highway 4 atCanada–US border nearLoring, MT |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| States | Arizona,Utah,Wyoming,Montana |
| Highway system | |
| National Forest Scenic Byway | |
U.S. Route 191 (US 191) is a north–south highway in the Western United States and a spur of parent routeU.S. Route 91 that has two segments. The southern segment runs for 1,102 miles (1,773 km) fromDouglas, Arizona on theMexican border to the southern part ofYellowstone National Park.[1][2][3] The northern segment runs for 442 miles (711 km) from the northern part of Yellowstone National Park toLoring, Montana, at theCanada–US border.[4] Unnumbered roads within Yellowstone National Park connect the two segments. The highway passes through the states ofArizona,Utah,Wyoming, andMontana.
The highway was designated in 1926 and its routing has changed drastically through the years. The modern US 191 bears almost no resemblance to the original route, which was primarily in the state ofIdaho. Most of the current route of US 191 was formed in 1981. Since the extensions in the 1980s and 1990s, U.S. Route 191 is much longer than its parent route to which it no longer connects, and it is one of the longest U.S. three-digit routes.
| mi[5][1][2][3][4] | km | |
|---|---|---|
| AZ | 516.50 | 831.23 |
| UT | 404.74 | 651.37 |
| WY | 181.14 | 291.52 |
| MT | 442.16 | 711.59 |
| Total | 1,544.54 | 2,485.70 |
US 191 begins inCochise County, Arizona at a signaled intersection withArizona State Route 80 (SR 80) andHistoric U.S. Route 80 (Historic US 80) nearDouglas.[1] The highway then proceeds north pastBisbee Douglas International Airport passing through the hamlets ofElfrida andMcNeal. Near Sunizona, US 191 intersects with the western terminus ofSR 181. US 191 then curves west for 7.5 miles (12.1 km) before turning northwest throughSunsites andCochise. US 191 intersectsInterstate 10 (I-10) near Cochise at a trumpet interchange (I-10 Exit 331). US 191 and I-10 run concurrent for 20.9 miles (33.6 km) aroundWillcox. In Willcox, I-10/US 191 serves as the northern terminus forSR 186 at Exit 340. The city itself is served by theWillcox I-10 Business Loop, which begins and ends at I-10/US 191 southwest and northeast of the city. In Bowie Junction at Exit 352, US 191 leaves I-10 and heads north, exiting Cochise County and enteringGraham County.[6] US 191 has a ten-mile (16 km) overlay withUS 70 east ofSafford. The route links toState Route 366 (SR 366) andSR 266 to the south of Safford. The route betweenSpringerville andMorenci was designated aNational Scenic Byway and given the name ofCoronado Trail Scenic Byway, as this approximates the path taken byFrancisco Vásquez de Coronado between 1540 and 1542.[7] This is a very dangerous mountain road with many sharp curves and little or no shoulders on steep cliffs. North of the byway, the highway is the primary route to accessCanyon de Chelly National Monument. US 191 traverses theNavajo Nation before entering Utah.[1][8]
US 191 has a detached business route in Arizona, running fromSR 80/Historic US 80 in Douglas, along Pan American Ave to the US Customs/Immigration Port of Entry at the border with Mexico.[1][8] The portion of this route between its intersection with SR 80 near Douglas and the intersection with Interstate 40 at Sanders was formerly the major Arizona portion of US 666.[9] Part of US 191 through the Navajo Nation is designated by theArizona Department of Transportation as theTse'nikani Flat Mesa Rock Scenic Road.[7]
US 191 serves the eastern half of the state. The road enters Utah in a remote portion of theNavajo Nation. The highway passes through mostly desolate areas of easternUtah. Several portions areNational orUtah Scenic Byways. It passes throughBluff,Blanding,Monticello (the seat ofSan Juan County), andMoab, the largest city in southeastern Utah and the seat ofGrand County. It connects with U.S. Routes 6 and 50 as it joins Interstate 70 going due west through the town ofGreen River, home of the John Wesley Powell Museum. A few miles west of town it splits off with US 6 and continues north between the San Rafael Reef to the west and Book Cliffs to the east through Emery County. It then enters the historic coalfields of Carbon County, passing throughWellington andPrice, the largest city in Eastern Utah, home to the USU Eastern Prehistoric museum, and historicHelper, the main stop for Amtrak betweenProvo, Utah andGrand Junction, Colorado. In addition to linking many rural towns in Utah toI-70 andUS 40, the highway served to interconnect several national and state parks for tourism, namelyCanyonlands National Park,Arches National Park,Bears Ears National Monument, andDead Horse Point State Park. The highway exits Utah just after crossing theFlaming Gorge Reservoir.
US 191 enters Wyoming near a geographical feature known as Minnie's Gap, just east ofFlaming Gorge National Recreation Area. The route proceeds north through rugged desert country following an alignment mostly constructed during the 1970s, to a junction withInterstate 80 at Exit 99, just west ofRock Springs. This segment of the route is known locally as "East Flaming Gorge Road."
The route is thenconcurrent with Interstate 80 eastward for approximately five miles (8.0 km), passing just north of Rock Springs. US 191 diverges northward at Exit 104, following the former route ofUS 187. Traveling through high desert country, the route passes throughEden,Farson, andPinedale before meetingUS 189 at Daniel Junction. Continuing north, the road traverses increasingly mountainous terrain, entering theBridger-Teton National Forest and passing through the small community ofBondurant before descending through the narrow Hoback River Canyon to an intersection withUS 26 andUS 89 at Hoback Junction. The route then follows theSnake River valley northward toJackson. US 191 is concurrent with US 189 between Daniel Junction and Jackson, and with US 26 and US 89 between Hoback Junction and Jackson.
North of Jackson, US 191 soon entersGrand Teton National Park, running concurrently with US 26 and US 89. The highway meetsUS 287 at Moran Junction, inside the park; US 191, US 89, and US 287 are concurrent north of Moran, but the highways are not signed. Continuing through forested, mountainous country, the route passes through theJohn D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway before ending at the South Entrance ofYellowstone National Park. While US 191 and other U.S. Routes are officially discontinuous through the park, some commercially produced maps show these highways running inside Yellowstone National Park itself along its unnumbered roads and across the Wyoming–Montana state line.
US 191 in Montana begins at the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park, at the edge of the town ofWest Yellowstone. The highway heads north, running concurrently with US 287 for eight miles (13 km) before veering slightly east and entering Yellowstone. US 191 continues northward through Yellowstone, traversing forested, mountainous terrain and briefly looping into the state of Wyoming, before leaving the park in the upper reaches of theGallatin River canyon. The route travels northward through the narrow canyon, past the resort community ofBig Sky, then entering the Gallatin Valley near the town ofGallatin Gateway, Montana. US 191 travels north and east through the valley to the city ofBozeman, which is the largest city along the entire US 191 route.
From Bozeman, US 191 is concurrent withI-90 eastward 58 miles (93 km) toBig Timber, where it proceeds north. The road travels through hilly ranch country near the eastern edge of theCrazy Mountains toHarlowton, where US 191 is briefly concurrent withUS 12. North of Harlowton, US 191 is concurrent withMontana Highway 3 for 37 miles (60 km), to Eddie's Corner. US 191 proceeds eastward from Eddie's Corner toLewistown, on a roadway shared withUS 87 andMontana 200, in awrong-way concurrency.
US 191 reaches theCanada–US border after going through Lewistown, across theMissouri River at theCharles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, and throughMalta. It ends at the international border at Port Morgan, and the road continues into Saskatchewan asHighway 4 towardSwift Current.
The routing of US 191 has drastically changed through the years having been extended and shortened several times. The original route designated in 1926 ran fromIdaho Falls, Idaho, toWest Yellowstone, Montana along the route now numberedU.S. Route 20. West Yellowstone is the only town that has been continuously served by the highway since its commissioning. On February 1, 1935, US 191 was extended over Montana Highway 187 (also known as the Gallatin Way) toBozeman, Montana.[10]
At one time US 191 connected to its parent,US 91, twice: atIdaho Falls, Idaho andBrigham City, Utah. Today the highway does not connect to its parent, or even enter Idaho. In Utah, there have been 2 completely different iterations of U.S. 191 serving different areas of the state. The original iteration is nowState Route 13, which is mostly afrontage road forInterstate 15.[11] In this alignment, the route in between Idaho Falls and the Utah line also paralleled I-15. As US 191 has mostly been extended while US 91 has largely been truncated, US 191 is now ten times longer than its parent.
By 1981, due to the construction ofInterstate 15 and extension of other U.S. Highway designations, US 191 had been truncated to a route between West Yellowstone andMalta, Montana.Utah andWyoming lobbiedAASHTO to create a single highway that would connect severalNational Parks in their states to facilitate tourism. The initial proposal was to extendU.S. Route 163 north into Wyoming. However it was later decided to addArizona to this proposal for a new highway and instead extend US 191 south.[citation needed] Most of the southern extension recycled existing U.S. and state highways. However, some new sections were constructed. When the 1981 extension was finished, US 191 reachedInterstate 40 in Arizona.[12]
In Wyoming, the new US 191 absorbed what wasU.S. Route 187, formed in 1926 as a branch fromUS 87W (nowUS 287) atJackson Lake Junction, Wyoming south toUS 30 inRock Springs.[12] Although it became part of US 191 in 1981, theAmerican Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials still lists it in their latest log (1989), with a short independent section in Rock Springs between former US 30 (nowUS 30 Business) andI-80.
A combination of new construction and the upgrading of county roads created a more direct route betweenInterstate 80 in Wyoming andFlaming Gorge Reservoir.
Through Utah, US-191 absorbedSR-33,SR-260, and most ofSR-44. From Crescent Junction toBluff was previously numberedU.S. Route 163, eliminating all but a short segment of that route.[12] US 191 was extended over BIA Route 12 fromBluff, Utah to a junction withU.S. Route 160 in Arizona.[13] The 1981 extension caused US 191 to enter Arizona for the first time in its history, ending atI-40 inChambers, Arizona. Between US 160 and I-40 the highway absorbed the route of formerState Route 63.[14]
In 1992,Arizona requested a new number for its portion ofUS 666. The state wished to remove the US 666 designation from within Arizona, due to public concerns relating to thebiblical reference to the number "666". A secondary reason given by the state was the constant theft of US 666 shields and navigational markers along the highway.[15] As a result, US 191 was extended over I-40 toSanders, where it absorbed the route of US 666 from Sanders to theMexican border atDouglas, Arizona. Following the extension of US 191, US 666 was truncated out of Arizona to I-40 inGallup, New Mexico.[16] In 1996, it became the latest U.S. highway to travel from border to border, with the extension fromMalta, Montana to theCanada–US border, absorbing formerMontana Secondary Highway 242.[citation needed] In 2003, the remainder of US 666 between I-40 and US 191 inMonticello, Utah was renumberedUS 491. The x91 number was decided because the road meets US 191 in Monticello.[16]
SR 80 /Historic US 80 inDouglas
I-10 north-northwest ofCochise. The highways travel concurrently to northeast ofWillcox.
US 70 inSafford. The highways travel concurrently toSan Jose.
US 180 inAlpine. The highways travel concurrently toSt. Johns.
US 60 inSpringerville. The highways travel concurrently through Springerville.
I-40 inSanders. The highways travel concurrently toChambers.
US 160 south-southeast ofMexican Water. The highways travel concurrently to southeast of Mexican Water.
US 163 inBluff
US 491 inMonticello
I-70 /US 6 /US 50 west-southwest ofThompson Springs. I-70/US 50/US 191 travels concurrently to west ofGreen River. US 6/US 191 travels concurrently to north ofHelper.
US 40 inDuchesne. The highways travel concurrently toVernal.
I-80 /US 30 inPurple Sage. The highways travel concurrently toRock Springs.
US 189 north ofDaniel. The highways travel concurrently toJackson.
US 26 /US 89 inHoback Junction. US 26/US 191 travels concurrently toMoran. US 89/US 191 travels concurrently to the South Entrance toYellowstone National Park.
US 26 /US 287 in Moran. US 191/US 287 travels concurrently to the South Entrance toYellowstone National Park.
US 20 /US 287 from the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park; the highways travel concurrently toWest Yellowstone.
I-90 inBozeman. The highways travel concurrently to southwest ofBig Timber.US 89 inLivingston. The highways travel concurrently to northeast of Livingston.
US 12 inHarlowton. The highways travel concurrently to east of Harlowton.
US 87 west-northwest ofMoore. The highways travel concurrently toLewistown.
US 2 inMalta. The highways travel concurrently through Malta.Highway 4 at theCanada–United States border north-northeast ofLoringRedesignate, renumber or eliminate portions of U.S. 666, B-666 and T-666 from Douglas to Sanders.
Extend U.S. Route 191 from the present terminus at the intersection of U.S. Route 287 north of West Yellowstone to the Wyoming State Line, then southeasterly over present U.S. Route 287 to the intersection of U.S. Route 187 at Moran, Wyoming, then southeasterly over U.S. Route 187 to the intersection of I-80 at Rock Springs, then westerly over I-80 to the intersection of SR 373 west of Rock Springs, then southerly over SR 260 to the intersection of SR 44, then southerly over SR 44 to the intersection of U.S. 40 at Vernal, Utah, then westerly over U.S. 40 to the intersection of SR 33 at Duchesne, then southwesterly over SR 33 to the intersection of U.S. Route 6 north of Helper, then southeasterly over U.S. Route 6 to the intersection of U.S. Route 163 at Crescent Jct., then southeasterly over U.S. Route 163 to the intersection of a route to be added to the Utah State Route System at Bluff, then southerly over this route to the Arizona State Line and the intersection of U.S. Route 160 near Mexican Water, Arizona, then westerly over U.S. Route 160 to the intersection of SR 63, then southerly over SR 63 to a new terminus at Chambers, Arizona.
| Browse numbered routes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
← SR 189 | AZ | → SR 195 | ||
← WYO 190 | WY | → WYO 191 | ||
← MT 141 | MT | → MT 200 | ||
← WYO 372 |  WY | → WYO 374 | ||
