Utah State Route 15 (1912-1977)
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State Route 9 (SR-9) is a
state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
in southern
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, serving Zion National Park. It starts at the western terminus at exit 16 on Interstate 15 (I-15), passing through Zion National Park, and ending at the eastern junction with U.S. Route 89 (US-89). The entire length of the highway has been designated the Zion Park Scenic Byway. 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 the Zion - Mt. Carmel Tunnel to allow the larger vehicles to pass through. There is a smaller tunnel in Zion National Park that does not require an escort. Commercial vehicles are prohibited from using SR-9 and are directed to use SR-20 instead. The entire route, including the connection through Zion National Park, has been listed as part of the National Highway System.


Route description


Harrisburg Junction to Zion National Park

SR-9 begins at I-15, Exit 16, at Harrisburg Junction, just north of
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
. 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 of
Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
and
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
. 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 Quail Creek State Park is a state park of Utah, United States, featuring a reservoir. The park is located within Hurricane, Utah, west of the city center and south of the historic ghost town of Harrisburg. Quail Creek State Park offers camping ...
lies about a mile to the north of the road between these two ridges. Upon passing through the second ridge, SR-9 crosses the Virgin River and climbs a small plateau to the region of
Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
known as Brentwood. The road descends from this plateau into downtown
Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
, where SR-59 splits to the south toward the Arizona border. SR-9 then swings north towards the town of
La Verkin : 'The Virgin' , established_title1 = Incorporated , established_date1 = 1927 , unit_pref = Imperial , area_footnotes = , area_magnitude = , area_total_km2 = 33.10 , area_land_km2 = 33.10 ...
, crossing an old bridge over the La Verkin River Ravine, before entering that town. In
La Verkin : 'The Virgin' , established_title1 = Incorporated , established_date1 = 1927 , unit_pref = Imperial , area_footnotes = , area_magnitude = , area_total_km2 = 33.10 , area_land_km2 = 33.10 ...
, SR-17 takes off to the north, where it meets back up with
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 '' ...
. After leaving La Verkin, SR-9 heads uphill and passes several mesas before eventually going through the small towns of
Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
, Rockville, and Springdale.


Zion National Park to Mount Carmel Junction, Utah

This scenic section of SR-9 twists and turns along through Zion National Park and then another 12 miles to
Mount Carmel Junction Mount Carmel Junction and Mount Carmel are unincorporated communities located east of Zion National Park and north of Kanab in Kane County, Utah, United States. They lie in close proximity to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. Mount Carmel J ...
. This section of the road is called the Zion-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 of Zion 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 Checkerboard Mesa is an iconic elevation Navajo Sandstone summit located in Zion National Park, in Kane County of southwest Utah, United States. Checkerboard Mesa is situated immediately southwest of the park's east entrance, towering above the ...
. Finally the road exits the park through the east entrance and later ends at the junction of SR-9 and
US-89 U.S. Route 89 (US 89) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway with two sections, and one former section. The southern section runs for from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The northern section ...
in Mount Carmel Junction.


History

The road from
Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
north through
La Verkin : 'The Virgin' , established_title1 = Incorporated , established_date1 = 1927 , unit_pref = Imperial , area_footnotes = , area_magnitude = , area_total_km2 = 33.10 , area_land_km2 = 33.10 ...
to US-91 at Anderson Junction was added to the state highway system in 1912, and a branch was added from La Verkin Junction east to Zion National Park in 1916 and beyond to Mt. Carmel Junction in 1923. In the 1920s, the State Road Commission assigned State Route 15 to the road from Anderson Junction to the park, while State Route 16 included the branch to Hurricane (and continued southeast to
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
via present SR-59). In 1927, the state legislature extended SR-15 through the park to Mt. Carmel Junction, and added a new State Route 17, which formed a cutoff from US-91 at Harrisburg Junction east to Hurricane. SR-17 also included SR-16 from Hurricane north to La Verkin Junction and southeast to Big Plain Junction, where the realigned SR-16 turned north to SR-15 at Rockville. The portion of SR-17 from Hurricane to Big Plain Junction was split off as SR-59 in 1931, 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. The Nevada Construction Company completed the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel in 1930, after three years of construction and a cost of $1,896,000. SR-15 and SR-17 were swapped in 1969, giving SR-15 the route from Harrisburg Junction and SR-17 its present route. In the 1977 renumbering, SR-15 was renumbered SR-9 due to the existence of Interstate 15. The 1992 St. George earthquake destroyed three houses as well as above- and below-ground utilities, causing about $1 million in damage. In the Balanced Rock Hills area of Springdale, a
landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
covered part of SR-9, taking several hours to complete movement. The slide was about long and wide, contained boulders up to in diameter, with a total volume of and total area of .


Future

As of 2019, the Utah Department of Transportation is studying a potential upgrade of the segment of SR-9 between I-15 and the junction with the Southern Parkway (SR-7), located at approximately 2800 West.


Major intersections


References


External links


East Zion Tourism CouncilZion Park Scenic Byway - U.S. Department of Transportation/National Scenic Byways ProgramUtah State Route 9 Flickr Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:State Route 009
009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9 * ...
009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9 * ...
009 009