Utah State Route 18
State Route 18 (SR-18) is a state highway in southern Utah, running for 51.005 miles (82.085 km) in Washington and Iron Counties from St. George to Beryl Junction. It forms part of the Legacy Loop Highway from St. George to Parowan. The highway closely follows the route of the Old Spanish Trail through Dixie National Forest.
State Route 18 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legacy Loop Highway | ||||
SR-18 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by UDOT | ||||
| Length | 51.005 mi[1] (82.085 km) | |||
| Existed | 1918 as a state highway; 1927 as SR-18–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  I-15 in St. George | |||
 SR-34 in St. George SR-8 in St. George SR-219 in Enterprise | ||||
| North end |  SR-56 at Beryl Junction | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Utah | |||
| Counties | Washington, Iron | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
St. George to Veyo
SR-18 begins at Convention Center/Sunland Drive just south of the Bluff Street interchange with I-15 in St. George as an urban arterial and heads north through the west side of downtown St. George. After passing Sunset Boulevard (SR-8), the route has an inverted single-point urban interchange with Snow Canyon Parkway/Red Hills Parkway. The route has a dumbbell interchange at Ledges Parkway as it continues north, passing through Snow Canyon State Park. SR-18 continues northwest through Wide Canyon to Dammeron Valley and past Veyo Volcano. It then turns north into Veyo, running through the center of the town.[1] This segment of SR-18 (between I-15 and Veyo) is listed as part of the National Highway System.[2]
Veyo to Beryl Junction
SR-18 leaves Veyo heading northeast to Central, then continues north and northwest through mountainous terrain in the Dixie National Forest past the Mountain Meadows Massacre site and continues into Enterprise. It turns northeast in eastern Enterprise, then turns north through farmland outside of the town to Beryl Junction, where it ends at an intersection with SR-56.
History
The highway closely follows the route of the Old Spanish Trail through the extreme corner of southwestern Utah.[3] This portion of the trail is known for the 1857 Mountain Meadows massacre, a controversial event in both Utah and Mormon history which occurred just off what is now SR-18.
The road from SR-1 (by 1926 US-91) at Enterprise Junction north through Enterprise to Modena was added to the state highway system in 1918.[4] A 1927 law gave it the number and extended it west to the Nevada state line, where it became SR 25 to Panaca.[5] In 1935, the portion from Beryl Junction west to Nevada became an extension of SR-56, which ran east from Beryl Junction to Cedar City.[6] A branch from Enterprise west to Nevada, where SR 75 continued as a shortcut to Panaca, was added to SR-18 in 1941,[7] but split off as SR-120 in 1945.[8] At the southern end of the route, SR-18 was extended over US-91 in 1969 toward future I-15 (which was replacing US-91), putting the south end at SR-34, at the modern intersection of Bluff Street and St. George Blvd in St. George. A further extension to I-15 at exit 6 was made in 1974, replacing the south half of SR-34.[4]
Major intersections
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Saint George | 0.000 | 0.000 | Frontage Road | Southern terminus |
| 0.043– 0.289 | 0.069– 0.465 | I-15 – Las Vegas, Salt Lake City | Exit 6 on I-15 | ||
| 2.103 | 3.384 |  SR-34 east (Saint George Boulevard) | Former US-91 | ||
| 3.181 | 5.119 |  SR-8 west (Sunset Boulevard) | Former US-91 | ||
| 3.844 | 6.186 | Snow Canyon Parkway/Red Hills Parkway – Snow Canyon State Park | Inverted single-point urban interchange | ||
| 8.751 | 14.083 | Ledges Parkway | Dumbbell interchange | ||
| Enterprise | 40.338 | 64.918 | SR-219 west (Main Street) | Previously SR-120 | |
| Iron | Beryl Junction | 51.005 | 82.085 | SR-56 – Modena, Cedar City | Northern terminus |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
- "Highway Reference Online - SR-18". maps.udot.utah.gov. Utah Department of Transportation.
- "Utah National Highway System". UDOT Data Portal. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
- Southwestern Utah Multipurpose Map (Map). 1:250000. 5 of 8. Cartography by AAA Engineering and Drafting. Utah Travel Council. 1978. § B4.
- "State Road Resolutions SR-18.pdf". Utah Department of Transportation. (2.49 MB), updated September 2007, accessed May 2008
- Utah State Legislature (1927). "Chapter 21: Designation of State Roads". Session Laws of Utah.
18. From Enterprise Junction near St. George, northerly via Central, and Enterprise to Modena, thence, westerly to the Nevada State line.
- Utah State Legislature (1935). "Chapter 37: Designation of State Roads". Session Laws of Utah.
Route 18. From Enterprise Junction on route 1, near St. George, northerly via Central and Enterprise to Modena Junction on route 56." "Route 56. From Cedar City westerly via Newcastle and Modena to the Utah-Nevada state line.
- Utah State Legislature (1941). "Chapter 34". Session Laws of Utah.
- Utah State Legislature (1945). "Chapter 61: State Roads and Routes". Session Laws of Utah.
Route 120. From Enterprise on route 18 westerly via Terry's Ranch to the Utah-Nevada state line.
External links
Media related to Utah State Route 18 at Wikimedia Commons