State Route 161 (SR-161) is a long

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 ...

, designated as a rural major connector, completely within Millard County in central

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 ...

. The highway connects Interstate 70 (I-70) to

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 '' ...

while providing service to historic Cove Fort. The route was once part of U.S. Route 91 (US-91), but was renumbered to SR-161 in the 1970s, in parallel with the construction of I-70.

Route description

Located entirely in southeastern Millard County, SR-161 starts at a

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...

with the westernmost exit on I-70 before it terminates at

. The road continues northward until it reaches the historic Cove Fort and the associated visitors center. On the eastern side of the highway is a Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) maintenance center. SR-161 starts to make a gentle turn to the northeast, passing a

filling station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoli ...

, which also serves as a rest area as part of a

public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Administ ...

between UDOT and the owners of the station. The highway intersects I-15 and comes to an end at a

cattle guard A cattle grid – also known as a stock grid in Australia; cattle guard, or cattle grate in American English; vehicle pass, or stock gap in the Southeastern United States; Texas gate in western Canada and the northwestern United States; and a ...

on Black Rock Road northwest of the interchange with I-15. In 2007, a daily average of 455 cars traveled along SR-161, representing only a slight growth from previous years; in 2006, the average was 450 and in 2005, 415). Thirty five percent of this traffic was composed of trucks. The average traffic measurement is collected at a point on SR-161 between Cove Fort and the interchange with I-15.

History

The SR-161 designation has been used two other times for other state routes. The first route, which was formed in 1933, connected US-50/US-89/US-91 (now

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 ...

) to SR-68 in Bluffdale until the route was decommissioned in 1953. From May 8, 1961 to February 14, 1964, the route number was used for a road from US-91 to

in the city of

Beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

. The parallel T-beam bridges that carry I-15 over SR-161 at its northern terminus were constructed in 1966 along with the construction of I-15 though the area. The bridges carrying I-70 over SR-161 were constructed in 1973. The current route, codified into Utah law in 1965 and designated on signage following the decommissioning of US-91 in the 1970s, was partially a former alignment of US-91. Once I-70 was completed the long segment of US-91 as well as the roadway to the north was designated SR-161 by the Utah State Department of Highways. No significant changes have been made to the roadway except for its legal definition. SR-161 serves the important function of providing access to the contracted rest area as well as the historic Cove Fort. no new projects are scheduled for SR-161, either through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or the UDOT Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.

Major intersections

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:State Route 161

161 Year 161 ( CLXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Aurelius (or, less frequently, year 914 '' Ab urbe condi ...

161

Utah State Route 161 State Route 161 (SR-161) is a long state highway, designated as a rural major connector, completely within Millard County, Utah, Millard County in central Utah. The highway connects I-70 (UT), Interstate 70 (I-70) to I-15 (UT), I-15 while provi ...