U.S. Route 287 (US 287) is a north-south

United States Numbered Highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...

in the state of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. It extends approximately from

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

north to U.S. Route 89 in Choteau, south of the

Canadian border Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Route description

US 287 in Montana begins at the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with US 20 and US 287, at the edge of the town of

West Yellowstone West Yellowstone is a town in Gallatin County, Montana, United States, adjacent to Yellowstone National Park. The population was 1,272 at the 2020 census. West Yellowstone is served by Yellowstone Airport. It is part of the Bozeman, MT Micropoli ...

. Some commercially produced maps show US 287 going through Yellowstone National Park; however, it officially has a gap inside the park and resumes in

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

at the South Entrance, concurrent with US 89 and US 191. A few blocks into West Yellowstone, US 20 leaves the US 191 / US 287 concurrency and heads west towards the

Targhee Pass Targhee Pass is a mountain pass in the western United States on the Continental Divide. It is located along the border between southeastern Idaho and southwestern Montana, in the Henrys Lake Mountains at an elevation of above sea level. The ...

and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. The highway heads north, running concurrently with US 191 for before it heads west for , passing along the north shores of

Hebgen Lake Hebgen Lake is a reservoir created by the Hebgen Dam, located in Gallatin County in southwest Montana. It is well known for the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake (magnitude 7.1 to 7.5) which occurred nearby on August 17, 1959, forming Quake Lake, whic ...

and

Earthquake Lake Quake Lake (officially Earthquake Lake) is a lake in the western United States, on the Madison River in southwestern Montana. It was created after an earthquake struck on August 17, 1959, with 28 fatalities. Northwest of West Yellowstone, Qu ...

, to Montana Highway 87 (MT 87). US 287 turns north-northwest and follows the

Madison River The Madison River is a headwater tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 183 miles (295 km) long, in Wyoming and Montana. Its confluence with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers near Three Forks, Montana forms the Missouri River. The ...

for to

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

, where it intersects MT 287, and continues north for to Norris, where it intersects MT 84. It continues for to MT 2, just north of

Sappington Sappington is an unincorporated census-designated place in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 7,995 at the 2020 census. History Sappington was named for a family of pioneer settlers. After Daniel Boone settled in moder ...

, where it turns east and the two routes share a concurrency. At Three Forks Junction, MT 2 leaves US 287 and heads east towards Three Forks, while US 287 turns north and travels for to

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

. US 287 heads north for to

Townsend Townsend (pronounced tounʹ-zənd) or Townshend may refer to: Places United States *Camp Townsend, National Guard training base in Peekskill, New York *Townsend, Delaware *Townsend, Georgia *Townsend, Massachusetts, a New England town ** Townsend ...

, where it merges with US 12, and the two routes travel northwest for to Helena. On the east side of Helena, the combined route intersects

I-15 I15 may refer to: * Interstate 15, a north–south Interstate Highway in the United States of America * Polikarpov I-15, a Soviet fighter aircraft * I15 (band) "Soulja Girl" is the second single from American rapper Soulja Boy's studio album '' ...

, where US 287 continues north on I-15 and US 12 heads west through downtown Helena. US 287 follows I-15 for , and exits I-15 northeast of Wolf Creek and heads northwest. It travels for to MT 200, to MT 21 (about north of Augusta), and to Choteau where it ends at US 89. US 287 is one of three highways in Montana numbered '287', the other two being Montana Highway 287 (MT 287) and Montana Secondary Highway 287 (S-287). Both routes are accessible to US 287, with MT 287 intersecting it in Ennis, while S-287 intersects MT 2 in Three Forks, about east of US 287.

History

US 287 was originally designated as Montana State Highway 287 (MT 287). The Montana State Highway Commission first assigned the MT 287 designation in 1958 to a cross-state route from

at West Yellowstone to the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

at the

Piegan–Carway Border Crossing The Piegan–Carway Border Crossing connects the towns of Babb, Montana and Cardston, Alberta on the Canada–United States border. U.S. Route 89 on the American side joins Alberta Highway 2 on the Canadian side. Canadian side In terms of the re ...

between

Babb Babb is surname of mostly English origin which has been documented as far back as 1322 in Devon County, England. While the name appears to have originated in the Devon area, Y-DNA Genetic testing has revealed a number of distinct lineages throughout ...

and

Cardston, Alberta Cardston is a town in Alberta, Canada. It was first settled in 1887 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who travelled from Utah, via the Macleod-Benton Trail, to present-day Alberta in one of the century' ...

. MT 287 ran concurrently with US 191 for north from West Yellowstone and replaced MT 1 from US 191 to US 10S near

. The route joined US 10S—along the modern

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

(I-90) corridor—to its junction with US 10 and US 10N near Three Forks. MT 287 continued with US 10N north and west to Helena, then the route ran concurrently with US 91 (along the modern

corridor) to Wolf Creek. MT 287 replaced MT 33 between Wolf Creek and Choteau, then the highway ran concurrently with US 89 through Browning to Canada. After the Hebgen Lake earthquake in 1959, which destroyed part of the highway along that lake and created

Quake Lake Quake Lake (officially Earthquake Lake) is a lake in the western United States, on the Madison River in southwestern Montana. It was created after an earthquake struck on August 17, 1959, with 28 fatalities. Northwest of West Yellowstone, Qu ...

, MT 287 was temporarily rerouted to the highway north from

Raynolds Pass Raynolds Pass, elevation , is a mountain pass on the Montana-Idaho border in the Rocky Mountains, United States. The pass is on the Continental Divide, and is traversed by a state highway ( Idaho State Highway 87 and Montana Highway 87). The pass ...

. In 1961, MT 287 was rerouted and replaced MT 34 from Ennis to Twin Bridges, ran concurrently with MT 41 to north of

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

, and replaced S-401 north to US 10 at Whitehall. MT 287 continued east with US 10 to rejoin its previous route west of Three Forks. The portion of the highway between Ennis and the US 10 junction became MT 287A. In 1965, the US 287 designation was extended north from

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

along its present alignment, replacing sections of MT 287 south of Ennis and north of Sappington, as well as all of MT 287A; the MT 287/US 89 concurrency north of Choteau was also dropped. The Montana Highway Commission requested the extension following lobbying from the U.S. Highway 287 Association and prior rejections from the AASHO, seeking a direct connection to either the Canadian border or Glacier National Park.

Major intersections

References

External links

* {{compact state detail browse, type=US, route=287, state=Montana, statebefore=Wyoming 87-2 Montana Transportation in Gallatin County, Montana Transportation in Madison County, Montana Transportation in Jefferson County, Montana Transportation in Broadwater County, Montana Transportation in Lewis and Clark County, Montana Transportation in Teton County, Montana

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links