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U.S. Highway 189 In Utah

This page was last updated on August 27, 2026.

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Overview

(The focus of this page is the route of U.S.189 through Silver Creek Canyon in Utah between Park City and Coalville. The route through the canyon is paralleled by Union Pacific's Park City Branch.)

The modern U.S. Highway 189 is a spur of U.S. Highway 89, between Provo, Utah, and Jackson, Wyoming, a distance of 322 miles. U.S. 189 connects at its southern end with Interstate 15 at Provo, then heads northeast by way of Provo Canyon to Heber, Utah. From Heber the route heads north to Interstate 80 at Silver Creek Junction, and the two routes parallel for a distance of 66 miles from Silver Creek Junction in Utah, east to an unnamed junction 13 miles east of Evanston, then north and northwest through Kemmerer and Big Piney, to Jackson, Wyoming, rejoining U.S. 89 at Hoback Junction, 13 miles south of Jackson.

Part of U.S. Route 189 takes it from Echo, Utah, to Silver Creek Junction northeast of Park City on Interstate 80. U.S. 189 is paralleled along this stretch by Union Pacific's Park City Branch. At Silver Creek Junction, U.S. 189 meets U.S. Route 40 and continues south through Heber and into Provo Canyon.

The route of Union Pacific's Park City Branch took it through Silver Creek Canyon, west from Wanship to Snyderville Basin. Through the canyon, the Park City Branch splits the eastbound and westbound lanes of today's Interstate 80. The route of Highway 189 through Silver Creek Canyon was originally that of the territorial toll road between Echo and Salt Lake City.

In Utah, other than the route through Silver Creek Canyon, U.S. 189 briefly separates from Interstate 80 at Coalville, then rejoins I-80 at Echo. Prior to the completion of the Interstate in 1963, U.S. 189 connected with what today is the county road east of Wanship, and from there took the route north to Coalville, and on to Echo. The route of the old U.S. 189 is still visible at the mouth of Silver Creek Canyon, where it was the main road through Wanship, then west (identified as the "Old Lincoln Highway") to its dead end about three miles up the canyon, along the north side of the Interstate.

(Read the Wikipedia article about U.S. Highway 189)

Silver Creek Canyon

The earliest road through Silver Creek Canyon was the territorial road that had evolved after 1860. In 1880 the route through Silver Creek Canyon was followed by two railroads, the narrow gauge Utah Eastern, and the standard gauge Summit County Railroad, which was reorganized at the Echo & Park City Railroad a month after reaching Park City.

Then after World War I, the Lincoln Highway used the route of the abandoned Utah Eastern. In 1925 when the U. S. highways were officially designated, the route through Silver Creek Canyon was chosen to become U. S. Highway 530, an improved and oiled road, wide enough for two cars to pass each other. In 1939 it was changed to U. S. Highway 189. Construction started on Interstate 80 in 1960, and the four-lane interstate was fully completed in November 1962, with the Union Pacific Park City Branch running at the bottom of the canyon and the eastbound lanes on the east side and the westbound lanes on the west side.

The Utah Eastern narrow gauge railroad was abandoned and removed in 1887. Although not an official Territorial road, the route the alignment and right-of-way of the abandoned railroad became the road through Silver Creek Canyon. Union Pacific still "owned" the alignment, but there is little evidence that it enforced that ownership, although they did try to "close" the canyon in 1890.

The following comes from Ezra C. Knowlton's "History of Highway Development in Utah," published in 1967.

The Territorial road through Silver Creek canyon later became part of the route of the Lincoln Highway, starting in the years before and after World War I. Initial construction of the Lincoln Highway began in 1913, the same year it was formally dedicated as one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles.

Beginning in November 1925 when the nation's highways were changed from named roads to numbered roads, the portion of the Lincoln Highway through Silver Creek Canyon was designated as U.S. Highway 530, later changed to U.S. Highway 189 in 1939.

U.S. 530 was an unpaved but improved and oiled road, wide enough for two cars to pass each other. Research has not yet found a date that the road was paved, but it was likely in the late 1920s when federal highway funds allowed paving of many roads in Utah. At the time of a 1932 map of Utah highways, the road is shown as U.S. Highway 530, and is shown as "bituminous treated," or oiled gravel.

Although Union Pacific's railroad operations were not affected, in June 1960 the appearance of Silver Creek Canyon began to change with the construction of an all-new alignment for the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80, south of the tracks on previously untouched land. The existing U.S. Highway 189 on the north side had been built in the 1920s as U.S. 530 on the abandoned Utah Eastern alignment (abandoned in 1887), and remained in use. Two-way traffic was diverted to the new eastbound lanes upon completion, and the old U.S. 189 alignment was rebuilt to become the new westbound lanes. The entire project was completed in November 1962.

Early Roads From the East

The original path taken by the 1847 pioneers was a very difficult way to reach the Salt Lake Valley, with its route from Henefer, up what today is known as East Canyon, over Big Mountain Summit, then over Little Mountain Summit, then down Emigration Canyon. The down-slopes were so steep that the wagons had to be "logged" with drag logs, and tied off to trees to keep them from rolling down the steep slopes. The 1847 pioneers had taken the route because they were following the Donner-Reed party from the previous year. With many more immigrants planned to come to the Salt Lake Valley, a better way was needed, and needed soon.

Prior to the territorial road being pushed through Silver Creek Canyon in 1860, the immigrant road followed Echo Creek down Echo Canyon to its joining with the Weber River. The road then followed the Weber River upstream to the meeting point with Three Mile Canyon at Rockport, about 17 miles south of Echo. After 1860, the newly completed territorial road turned away from the Weber River where it was joined by Silver Creek, at today's Wanship. It then followed Silver Creek upstream to Parley's Park, then down Parley's "Kanyon" to Salt Lake City.

In 1848 when Parley Pratt first explored what later became his "Golden Pass" toll road, he planned on the route passing through Silver Creek Canyon. But the first wagon train that used the route with its steep sides and narrow bottom, gave it a failing grade. A new route through Three Mile Canyon farther south became the chosen route. The new route, used from 1850 to 1860, made for a longer trip, by about seven miles, but it was much easier for wagons.

"It would seem that Silver Creek Canyon was the stumbling block, for Pratt never did get his road through this canyon; when finally completed, the Golden Pass Road was carried through the West Hills by way of Three Mile Canyon, the next canyon to the south." (J. Roderic Korns, "The Golden Pass Road," Utah Historical Quarterly, Volume 19 [XIX], 1951, pp.224-247)

(Read more about the early period of Parley Pratt's Golden Pass Road, 1848-1850)

Parley Pratt had built his Golden Pass toll road through the canyon that carried his name in 1849-1850, but it fell into disrepair after he sold it. Pratt reportedly sold his interest in the road to finance his calling to serve a church mission to Chile. (Ezra C. Knowlton, History of Highway Development in Utah, published by the Utah State Department of Highways)

Unfortunately it is not recorded to whom he sold his interest but the lack of upkeep must have made for some public outcry. And it is public outcry that spurs politicians into action.

On January 15, 1850, the Territorial General Assembly approved an Ordinance that created the positions of a Territorial Road Commissioner, and a road commissioner for each county.

On February 16, 1852, the Territorial Legislature approved a bill entitled "An Act For Improvement of Big Kanyon Creek Road". The law provided an unspecified appropriation for some work to be done on the road.

In August 1852 the Deseret News ran an editorial comment about the need to find a source of coal: "Coal! Coal!! Coal!!! -- Where is that coal mine that the brethren were to open as soon as the snow left, last spring? Have those brethren done as they agreed? We have no report of their doings. Now is the time. Snow will cover the earth again soon - no coal, no fire, cold feet; - wood in the kanyons, and cannot be had at any price, and no one searching a coal mine. Brethren, what are you about? Will you awake to your own and the public's interest, and hunt up a coal pit, and report to us forthwith? Who wants a thousand dollars for showing us a good coal bed near this city, before the next paper is issued?" (Deseret News, August 21, 1852)

On January 19, 1855, the Legislature took further action in the form of approving a bill entitled "An Act To Incorporate The Big Kanyon Road Company" which provided for a territorial charter of the enterprise, although it is not known who the individuals were that were involved in the organization.

On September 29, 1855 two men, W. W. Phelps and a Mr. Rhoades, traveled to Parleys Park and returned to Great Salt Lake City via Parleys Canyon. On October 3, they made the comment that "the road down Big Kanyon will take considerable labor to make it even a passable road." (Journal History, October 3, 1855)

The road became a Territorial road in 1855, and traffic along the road grew rapidly, meaning that it soon needed maintenance. The need for funds for what was called the Big Kanyon Road was a regular subject of discussion for the Territorial Legislature, with little or no funds being provided.

The passage of the U. S. Army's Utah Expedition in late June 1858, with its thousands of soldiers and thousands of heavy wagons, and the column's attendant engineer squads, most assuredly greatly improved the road through Three Mile and lower Parleys canyons. By this time, no toll was being collected for what was Parley Pratt's Golden Pass road, and the government would likely have not paid such a toll in any case.

(If there hadn't been so many witnesses to the Army column passing through Salt Lake City, there is a possibility that the Army columns had passed up to Weber River to today's town of Kamas, crossed over the divide to the Provo River, proceeded down Provo Canyon and into Utah Valley. This route was more thoroughly explored north of the Provo River by Captain Simpson when he returned east in August 1858. Along the Provo River, the Simpson party used the existing Provo Canyon Toll Road.)

The route of the Golden Pass road used Three Mile Canyon, but the road through Silver Creek Canyon was seen as a shorter route. Newspaper accounts reported that on several occasions, church leaders called for volunteers to work on improving the Silver Creek Canyon road, and Brigham Young regularly called on the Territorial legislature to take action, but without effect until 1860 when $2000 was set aside to work on the road. This date in 1860 coincides with the start of coal shipments to Salt Lake City, from the mines in both Grass Creek Canyon, and Chalk Creek Canyon near Coalville.

The territorial road between Echo and Salt Lake City, first by Three Mile Canyon, then by Silver Creek Canyon, quickly became the main avenue for almost all wagons carrying goods bound for Salt Lake City from the east, as well as the steady stream of immigrants. The road passed down Echo Canyon, then followed the Weber River south first to Three Mile Canyon, then later to Silver Creek Canyon, passing Coalville and the Grass Creek and Chalk Creek coal mines. As the coal mines were developed after 1860, wagons loaded with coal joined the already steady stream of immigrant and freight wagons headed for Salt Lake.

Parley Pratt's "Golden Pass Road" was by this time becoming the major thoroughfare for travelers to the East. In the Journal History of the LDS Church for the years 1860, 1862, and 1863 there are numerous references to immigrant wagon companies arriving in Salt Lake City after having traveled through the canyon and also references to companies of church missionaries traveling through the canyon and rendezvousing at Kimball's Ranch in Parleys Park to continue their trip east. (Journal History, June 7, 1860; July 1, 1861; September 27, 1860; October 14, 1862; May 19, 1863)

January 20, 1860
"The territorial assembly of that year, after canceling the Big (Parleys) Kanyon Road Company franchise which it had authorized in 1855, approved on January 20, 1860, legislation requiring the territorial road commissioner to locate a road from Salt Lake City '... by way of Big Kanyon Creek to the Valley of the Weber on the most feasible route to Bridger.' The sum of $2,000 was appropriated for letting a contract with the necessary work to be completed by December 1, 1860." (Knowlton, page 27, citing "Act Repealing Certain Acts of Appropriating Money to Locate and Open a Road from Great Salt Lake City to the Valley of the Weber," approved January 20, 1860.)

Hauling Coal, Before The Railroad

Moving the coal from the Grass Creek mines, and Chalk Creek mines above Coalville, was a challenge to be overcome in those early years. This meant that roads were needed to haul the coal by wagon, from the mines to markets in both Salt Lake City and Ogden. The road to Ogden followed the Weber River downstream. The road to Salt Lake City took a bit more work.

(Read more about the early coal mines at Coalville)

In January 1860, the Utah Territorial legislature canceled the franchises held by private companies for the Weber Canyon Toll Road, the Big Kanyon Toll Road, and the Provo Canyon Toll Road. This was reportedly at the request of William Hooper, Utah Territory's representative to the U. S. Congress, as well as Captain James Simpson of the U. S. Army's Corp of Engineers, all to identify the best entrance into the Salt Lake Valley from the East. Both men were hoping to obtain federal aid to improve these roads and to make one of them part of the route for a new national federal-aid road to California. (Knowlton, page 68)

August 29, 1860
"Road to the Weber Coal Mines. -- At the last session of the Legislative Assembly an appropriation of two thousand dollars was made, to be expended under the direction of the Territorial Road Commissioner, in locating and opening a road by way of Big Kanyon creek to the valley of the Weber, in the vicinity of the coal mines; but from some cause, the commencement of the work has been delayed till the present time, and some who are more or less interested in having the road opened have expressed an opinion that the work would not be completed the present season." (Deseret News, August 29, 1860)

September 12, 1860
"An appropriation of one thousand dollars was also made to aid to aid in opening the new territorial road from this city to or near the coal mines on the Weber." (Deseret News, September 12, 1860)

September 26, 1860
On three days in September 1860 (17th, 18th, 19th), Brigham Young, William Kimball and Daniel Wells traveled from Salt Lake City to the Grass Creek coal mine, by way of Parleys and Silver Creek canyons, then down Weber Canyon to its mouth, for the purpose of measuring the distance coal needed to be hauled to Salt Lake City. The odometer they used showed that it was 55.97 miles from Salt Lake City to the coal mine, by way of the "old road," a distance that would be reduced after the completion of the road through Silver Creek canyon, already completed for a distance of three miles. (Deseret News, September 26, 1860)

(Research suggests that the "old road" used in September 1860 to travel from Salt Lake City to the Grass Creek mine was eastward from Parleys Park to the Weber River by way of Three Mile Canyon, which reaches the Weber River at Rockport, a total distance of about 55.3 miles from Salt Lake City to the Church mine in Grass Creek Canyon, using modern measuring tools. The route through Silver Creek Canyon is approximately 51.8 miles. Rockport is about 3.9 miles south of where Silver Creek meets the Weber River at the mouth of Silver Creek Canyon, at today's town of Wanship.)

Territorial Road (1860 to 1880)

Between 1860 and 1880, the Territorial road through Echo and Silver Creek canyons, and lower Parleys Canyon served as the main avenue for almost all wagons carrying goods bound for Salt Lake City from the east, as well as the steady stream of immigrants, and beginning in 1860, a steady stream of coal wagons traveling from Coalville's mines to Salt Lake City. The route was severely interrupted in 1880 when two competing rail lines began building parallel routes through Silver Creek Canyon. The Union Pacific-controlled Summit County Railroad laid standard gauge track along the canyon, beside the creek, while the independent, narrow gauge Utah Eastern built higher up along the north wall, an elevated position likely intended to aid its planned extension toward Salt Lake City, though exact historical details on the route selection remain unknown.

On November 16, 1864, the Deseret News printed an editorial which stated: "The amount of travel over the Wasatch Mountains is calling loudly for a well laid and made road kept in thorough repair. There is a tolerable road by way of the Big Kanyon Creek Kanyon, Parley's Park and Silver Creek upon which much has been expended but a large expenditure is needed to complete it as it should be and keep it in good repair." In answer to this call, along with others, the Legislature, while it was in session during January 1865, considered a bill that "would charter a company to construct a full road from Weber River, via Parley's Park and Parley's Kanyon, to the city..." (Journal History, November 16, 1864; January 12, 1865)

December 11, 1865
Territorial Governor George Durkee, in his Governor's Message to the Territorial Legislature on December 11, 1865, spoke specifically of the need for a road by way of Silver Creek Canyon to get the coal from the Weber mines to Salt Lake City.

Governor Charles Durkee in his message to the Legislature on January 1, 1866, in calling for further legislation on the subject, made the following statement about the Parleys Canyon road: "The road from this city, through Parley's Park to the Weber River, is the avenue through which passes the greater portions of the imports for the Territory. The road is an extremely difficult one and although much labor has been expended upon it, it is still, for much of the year, impassable." On January 19, 1866, the Legislature approved a bill entitled "An Act Establishing a Territorial Road From Great Salt Lake City To Wanship, Summit County" and also appropriated $6,000 to build it. (Journal History, December 10, 1866; January 19, 1869)

Finally in January 1866, the Legislature approved a bill entitled "An Act Establishing a Territorial Road From Great Salt Lake City To Wanship, Summit County" and also appropriated $6,000 to build it.

January 19, 1866
The Territorial legislature appropriated $6,000 to complete the road by way of Silver Creek Canyon. (Ezra C. Knowlton, History of Highway Development in Utah, page 762)

An amendment to the Act of 1866 passed at the same time set the locations for the toll gates, which were located near Lambs Canyon and in Silver Creek Canyon just southwest of Wanship. The amendment also made it possible for the convicts of the State Penitentiary to be used for some of the labor in the construction of the road. (Ezra C. Knowlton, History of Highway Development in Utah, published by the Utah State Department of Highways)

December 10, 1866
Governor's Message To the Legislative Assembly, Territory of Utah, December 10, 1866: "The road from this city, through Parley's Park to the Weber River, is the avenue through which passes the greater portion of the imports for the Territory. The road is an extremely difficult one, and, although much labor has been expended upon it, it is still for much of the year almost impassable. The action had under the law passed at your last session, has failed to meet the requirements of the public; and some further legislation would seem desirable, either in the way of additional appropriation or a revision of the law." (Ezra C. Knowlton, History of Highway Development in Utah, page 761)

A later law in January 1868 established that a toll was to be collected, and that the toll fees received were to be expended on maintenance and improvement to the road.

The upkeep and operation of the new toll road became the subject of regular attention by the Territorial Legislature. In January 1869 they approved an amendment to the original Act which defined some of the duties of the Superintendent of the Salt Lake City to Wanship wagon road. The amendment made three stipulations: first was that the Superintendent cancel the accumulated toll which was owed by the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company of the LDS Church for the year 1868 - $1,866.00; second was that the superintendent was not to collect any toll for the second section of the road, that part of the road which traversed the summit, between Hardy's Station at Mountain Dell and Ferguson's settlement near East Canyon Creek on the other side of the summit, until May of each year; third was that the superintendent was not to collect a toll from any party when the expenses of collecting that toll would exceed or equal eighty percent of the toll to be collected. (Ezra C. Knowlton, History of Highway Development in Utah, published by the Utah State Department of Highways)

On February 18, 1870, the Legislature approved another amendment which allowed the superintendent to not collect a toll at any time that he felt it appropriate not to do so. During the 1872 session the Legislature made a move which reduced its direct involvement in the operation of the toll road through Parleys Canyon. On February 13, 1872, they approved still another amendment which gave the superintendent instructions that he was to no longer collect any tolls and that he should sell all of his tools and equipment and deposit the proceeds in the Treasury of the Territory. This amendment also repealed all of the previous amendments and the original Act itself. (Ezra C. Knowlton, History of Highway Development in Utah, published by the Utah State Department of Highways)

These acts of the Territorial Legislature may seem like they were cutting themselves off from a source of regular income. In reality though, traffic over the former Golden Pass Road must have been way down. The completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, along with the completion of the Utah Central Railroad between Ogden and Salt Lake City in January 1870, allowed the immigrant traffic to come to Utah by rail. The railroad now carried most of the regular passenger traffic, along with most of the freight traffic, both at a reduced cost of time and money. The Legislature making these changes to the duties of the superintendent may simply have been acknowledging an already existing situation. The final act that took away the superintendent's duties altogether acknowledged that there probably wasn't much for him to do anyway.

Back To Three Mile (1880 to 1910)

Silver Creek Canyon changed from a road corridor to a railroad corridor beginning in 1880 when two railroads—the standard-gauge Summit County Railroad (reorganized as the Echo & Park City Railroad) and the short-lived Utah Eastern narrow gauge—entered the canyon. After the Utah Eastern was abandoned in 1887, its right-of-way effectively again became part of the main route between Echo and Salt Lake City, despite Union Pacific's underlying ownership. After going through its own bankruptcy and reorganization in 1898, Union Pacific lost interest in protecting its second alignment in Silver Creek Canyon, and the old narrow gauge alignment continued to be used more and more as an informal road.

September 3, 1880
"The U. P. Company has offered to make a road through Three-mile Canyon, to avoid danger and delay in Silver Creek Canyon while building the railroad there. The county court sits on Monday next and will then, doubtless, decide upon the petition of the U. P. Company, to be allowed temporarily to close Silver Creek Canyon while constructing their roadbed." (Salt Lake Herald, September 3, 1880)

November 17, 1880
"Proceeding on our journey, we cross Silver Creek at the foot or the bench which leads up to Three Mile canyon, through which a road has been made by the U. P. Company, as the one through Silver Creek has been rendered impassable for teams, by the railroads. Three Mile Town [Rockport] is a thriving little place, situated at the mouth of the canyon of that name and is three miles south of Wanship. From there we go through Wanship and cross the Weber river on a rather shaky wooden bridge, right close to the beautiful, substantial bridge of the Utah Eastern." (Deseret News, November 17, 1880)

(An letter to the editor in the Deseret News of December 3, 1880, spelled out the pros and cons of the change, but was in the end in favor of the railroad taking over the county wagon road through Silver Creek Canyon, at least until construction was completed. One positive result would be a permanent improvement of the road through Three Mile Canyon. - Deseret News, December 3, 1880)

December 15, 1880
With the railroad taking over the route of the territorial road through Silver Creek Canyon in 1880 during the period of construction of the Summit County Railroad, the County Court of Summit County approved Union Pacific's request to close and abandon the road permanently, or close it for a period not to exceed six months. Union Pacific spent $1000 to repair and improve the road through Three Mile Canyon in the interim. (Salt Lake Herald, September 9, 1880; Deseret News, December 15, 1880)

After Union Pacific gained control of the Utah Eastern in 1883 they took away the Ontario coal contract, the only real traffic that the Utah Eastern had. With the loss of the coal contract, the Utah Eastern was in reality, out of business. Almost immediately, the company was unable to pay any of its expenses and by February 1885 it was forced into receivership. The Utah Eastern officially went away during 1887 when the Echo & Park City company, a Union Pacific subsidiary, purchased the Utah Eastern under foreclosure in May 1887. The Utah Eastern tracks between Coalville and Park City were completely removed by December 1887.

In 1884, the Legislature granted $500 each to Salt Lake County and to Summit County to aid in the maintenance of the wagon road through Parley's Canyon and Parley's Park. (Ezra C. Knowlton, History of Highway Development in Utah, page 798) (No mention as to the route, Silver Creek or Three Mile.)

1885
Less than a month after reaching Park City in late 1880, the Summit County Railroad was reorganized in 1881 as the Echo & Park City Railroad, with Union Pacific in firm control of the company. Union Pacific took control of the parallel and competing Utah Eastern in November 1883, and a month later stopped operations of the company. By April 1885, the roadbed of the abandoned Utah Eastern had been washed out in several places, and four of the bridges over the creek completely destroyed by floods. (These washouts were along the Weber River between Coalville and Wanship, not in Silver Creek Canyon.) The Receiver of the bankrupt railroad estimated that it would take $3,250 to put the road back into operating condition, but that the company was in debt for its bonds and mortgages for a total of $527,569, with an interest payment of $57,569 due on April 1st. (Salt Lake Democrat, April 17, 1885)

August 27, 1889
When the narrow gauge Utah Eastern was abandoned and torn up through Silver Creek Canyon in 1887, Union Pacific retained ownership of the roadbed, and in 1889 when another railroad, known as the Wyoming, Salt Lake & California, was surveying and building a new route between the Coalville coal mines and Salt Lake City, UP made a point of blocking their attempted use of the abandoned right-of-way by placing old ties and rails along the abandoned route. (Salt Lake Herald, August 27, 1889)

March 31, 1890
"The Union Pacific Railroad, by consent of the County Court of Summit County, closed the Silver Creek road for a space of two years, thereby putting an almost absolute embargo on the travel over the same. The depot and telegraph service [at Wanship] were discontinued about four years ago, up to which time the people of Camas, Peoa, etc., came to Wanship for their freight and supplies; those privileges being denied them by the railroad management, they were forced to go to Park City." (Deseret Evening News,March 31, 1890)

July 26, 1890
"Wanship, the former county seat of Summit County, situated at the mouth of Silver Creek canyon, seems to have lost its glory. There was a time when it was quite a business point, but it has become a quiet village. Its regression has been caused by the removal of the county seat, the stoppage of the wagon road travel by the building of the railroad, and the poisoning of the water by the mills up at Park City." (Deseret Evening News, July 26, 1890)

(Research in available online newspapers found no reference to the road in Silver Creek Canyon between 1890 and 1910. No mention if the road was safe, or unusable, or even being used. The same results were found for the road by way of Three Mile Canyon.)

(Research suggests that the road in Silver Creek Canyon in the 1890 to 1914 period was simply on the roadbed of the abandoned narrow gauge Utah Eastern railroad, abandoned in 1887, although it may not have been a state or county road, meaning that there may have not been any maintenance. Research in Summit County records for funding approvals during the period may be able to determine if the county was maintaining the road, with or without state funds.)

Back To Silver Creek (1910 to 1914)

1910
The 1910 Utah State Road map shows both the Silver Creek Canyon route and the Three Mile Canyon route as county roads. Te state road passed from Salt Lake City east through Parleys Canyon to Park City, then south to what later became Hailstone Junction, to Kamas, then north along the upper Weber River Valley to Rockport, Wanship, and Coalville to Echo.

November 27, 1910
"Another splendid piece of road is the trip up Parley's canyon to Kimballs, if a longer trip is desired. The road after leaving Kimballs, down Silver Creek canyon to Wanship and Coalville on the Weber river, is in excellent shape." (Salt Lake Tribune, November 27, 1910)

June 18, 1911
"For autoists seeking a good day's motoring and, weary of the beaten paths, a new route running through 100 miles of the finest mountain scenery in Utah, with good natural roads all the way, has been discovered by Dr. C. M. Benedict, an ardent motor enthusiast. The route lies east from Salt Lake through Parley's canyon to Kimball, down the Silver creek to Wanship, on to Coalville and down the beautiful valley of the Weber into Uintah." (Salt Lake Herald, June 18, 1911)

Lincoln Highway (1914 to 1927)

(Read the Wikipedia article about the Lincoln Highway)

August 29, 1914
The route of the Lincoln Highway between Evanston and Salt Lake City was decided in the last week of August 1914. It was to be down Echo Canyon, to Coalville, through Silver Creek Canyon to Park City, through Parley's Canyon to Salt Lake City. The road through Silver Creek Canyon was to be repaired, as well as the road through Echo and Parley's canyons, because all three routes were existing and being used on a regular basis for automobile tourists, with the Silver Creek Canyon route being agreed on as the most dangerous and in immediate need of repair. Summit County's hoped-for route through Chalk Creek Canyon was denied because it would require new construction. The new automobile route was to be a project of the state road commission, with state funds being distributed to the counties for the actual work. Two hundred men hired by the Salt Lake City Rotary Club were to do the work in Silver Creek Canyon. The Summit County commission chairman promised that for every man the Rotary Club sent to do the work, the county would match with a man, a team and a scraper. (Park Record, August 29, 1914)

There had been open disagreement between representatives of local business clubs in Salt Lake City and Ogden for each to be on the route of the new road, whether by Echo and Weber canyons to Ogden, or by Echo and Parley's canyons to Salt Lake City. More meetings and inspections of the routes were held in May through August. During August, Summit County was repairing the road through Silver Creek canyon hoping to attract motor tourists, and to have the route Echo to Coalville, to Silver Creek canyon, to Park City, to Parley's canyon designated as part of the Lincoln Highway. Summit County had resisted the route through Weber canyon to Ogden because it would not benefit the Summit County economy. (Ogden Daily Standard, April 18, 1914; June 5, 1914; Park Record, June 20, 1914)

September 18, 1914
The day set aside to repair the Silver Creek Canyon road was deemed a success. "It was a big day yesterday for 150 or more members of the Rotary Club of Salt Lake and the 100 or so men from Summit County with teams and a splendid showing made on the Silver Creek road which is to connect with the Lincoln Highway. Governor Spry, ex Governor Wells, ex-Governor Cutler, and scores of high officials, clever politicians and soft-handed professional men worked as they never worked before, and returned to their homes with blisters and backaches." (Park Record, September 19, 1914)

April 13, 1915
The National Lincoln Highway Association announced that Ogden, and the northern route by way of Weber Canyon, and a route around the north end of Great Salt Lake, would not be part of the official route of the Lincoln Highway. Ogden interests had attempted diverging the route to be by way of Weber Canyon to Ogden, then to Salt Lake City, where it would rejoin the previously announced route by way of the south end of the lake. The "official" route included the road through Silver Creek Canyon. (Salt Lake Herald, April 13, 1915)

April 28, 1915
This day was designated by Utah Governor Spry as "Good Roads Day." Workmen from Salt Lake and Summit counties, and Rotary Club and Commercial Club volunteers would spend the day improving and marking the route of the Lincoln Highway through the two counties. The following quote details some of the work. (Salt Lake Herald, April 22, 1915)

(The Salt Lake Herald of April 28, 1915, and the Salt Lake Telegram of April 29, 1915, both are recommended reading as a description of the day's events. In addition to the Lincoln Highway portions, thousands worked on their local roads throughout the state.)

May 8, 1915
With the route through Silver Creek Canyon being officially designated as part of the national Lincoln Highway, the driving of sheep herds through the canyon was forbidden by the Board of Commissioners of Summit County. There were numerous reports in the period after 1910 of the damage done by sheep to the road itself, plus reports of sheep herds knocking rocks and boulders and other debris down onto the road from their pastures on the hillsides above the road. The designated route for sheep herds was by way of Three Mile Canyon. Signs were to be placed at both ends of Silver Creek Canyon, informing sheep herders of the change of route to Three Mile Canyon. (Park Record, May 8, 1915; Salt Lake Herald, May 19, 1915)

May 15, 1915
The lack of roadside markers was becoming an issue. There were rumors that, despite its official designation, automobile travelers headed west from Evanston were being told by garage owners in Evanston that the road from Evanston to Salt Lake City was dangerous and should be avoided, and that travelers should only pass through Ogden for the safest route. Investigations were to be made to determine the source of these rumors. The Salt Lake City route, by way of Coalville, and Silver Creek and Parley's canyons, was almost entirely within the boundaries of Summit County. (Deseret Evening News, May 15, 1915)

May 17, 1915
The reports were found to be untrue, after a delegation of the Salt Lake Rotary Club made the trip from Salt Lake City to Evanston in 3 hours, 40 minutes, with an average speed of 21 miles per hour over the 84 miles. (Salt Lake Herald, May 17, 1915)

By 1918, the state's annual budget for maintenance of the road through Silver Creek Canyon was raised from $5,000 to $7,500. (Salt Lake Telegram, August 1, 1918)

By the early 1920s, conflicting signs were becoming a problem. At Echo, there were several attempts by Ogden boosters to put up signs directing travelers to Ogden, then to Salt Lake City, rather than directing them directly to Salt Lake City by way of "official" Lincoln Highway that passed through Coalville, and Silver Creek and Parley's canyons. There were additional efforts by residents and businessmen of the towns of the Kamas Valley, south of Wanship, promoting their towns as better pathways between Coalville and Park City, advertising that the road through Silver Creek Canyons was "barren," whereas the route through their towns and Park City was more scenic and pleasing with its "rich agricultural, livestock and dairying regions."

(Read more about the history of the Lincoln Highway in Utah; Utah Historical Quarterly, 2001)

During the period of the mid 1920s, there were also open complaints in the local newspapers that the road through Silver Creek Canyon should be upgraded with gravel and shale to overcome the native soil and "gumbo" clay over which travelers were required to use. The engineering and placement of the road was excellent, but the road's surface was severely lacking as a modern road. The complaints were taken to heart by the state road commission, and beginning in 1925, funds were allocated from both state and federal sources to improve and pave the road in the Silver Creek Canyon.

November 10, 1925
Summit County officials met with state road commission officials to discuss the county's request for a new route for the state road through Silver Creek Canyon. It was hoped to have the route surveyed and engineering complete, and ready to be put out for bids by July 1, 1926, when federal funds would be available. The total cost was reported to be in the range of $100,000. (Salt Lake Tribune, November 10, 1925)

(These changes would have been when the route was improved and widened. The route used the abandoned railroad roadbed, which was actually quite narrow. The improved engineering would have included changes such as a wider road surface and wider roadsides for improved automobile safety.)

Kimball's Junction or Kimball Junction

Kimball's Junction vs. Kimballs Junction vs. Kimball Junction

Kimball's Junction was named for the original Overland Stage station at the north end of the Snyderville Basin, north of Park City. It was established by William Kimball in 1862, at the north end of what was then known as Parley's Park. The original stage station was located midway between the two modern day freeway exits, at the confluence where Kimball Creek flows into East Canyon Creek, on the north side of today's Interstate 80.

Also known as Kimball's Ranch, the site was the terminal of the narrow gauge Utah Eastern railroad from Coalville and was where the railroad turned south to Park City, during its years of operation between 1880 and 1883.

From the Historic American Buildings Survey.

(Read more about Samuel Snyder at FamilySearch; Samuel Comstock Snyder; 14 February 1808 to 2 April 1866; LCTC-QCP)

The low marsh area south of Kimball's Ranch, fed by springs and Kimball Creek, was also where ice ponds were created to supply ice to the Salt Lake City market after the Salt Lake & Eastern narrow gauge railroad between Salt Lake City and Park City was completed in 1888. Ice ponds were also created along East Canyon Creek, west of Kimball's. Ice was harvested from these ice ponds and shipped to Salt Lake City in railroad boxcars.

The original Kimball Junction for roads and highways dates from about 1910. The 1910 Utah State Road Map shows a "Kimballs" along the state road between Parley's Summit and Park City, but there was no junction since the road to Wanship and Coalville was by way of Park City and Kamas, along today's Utah 224 and 248. Unimproved roads are shown by way of both Silver Creek Canyon to Wanship, and Three Mile Canyon to Rockport.

The next available Utah State Road Map is for 1923, and shows Utah Route 4 passing between "Kimball" and Wanship by way of Silver Creek Canyon. The junction at "Kimball" was where Utah Route 6, turned south to Park City and Kamas. Route 4 continued on eastward by way of Silver Creek Canyon to Coalville, Echo and east into Wyoming by Echo Canyon.

On the 1927 and 1928 maps, the junction is not identified, but was where the newly created U.S. 40 from Heber and Park City turned west to travel over Parley's Summit. It was the junction of U.S. 40 from Park City and Heber, and the road through Silver Creek Canyon to Wanship and Coalville, known variously as the territorial road, then the Lincoln Highway, then U.S. 530, then Utah 530, then Utah 4, then U.S. 189.

(Keep in mind that the very earliest county road from Kimballs Junction through Silver Creek Canyon to Wanship, was built in the 1910-1915 period on the abandoned roadbed of the Utah Eastern railroad.)

After 1929, maps show the junction as Kimballs Junction. Then in 1940 (and after) it is shown as Kimball Junction.

As shown on the 1955 USGS topographic map, and the Utah State Road Map for 1955, Silver Creek Junction (2.6 miles east of Kimball Junction) had been created in 1954 as a limited access interchange between U.S. 40 from Heber, and U.S. 189 from Wanship and Coalville. These same maps show Kimball Junction as the limited access junction between U. S. 40 from Silver Creek Junction and U.S. Alternate 40 from Park City.

Today's Kimball Junction is the junction of Interstate 80 with the north end of Utah 224 (previously U.S. Alternate 40) from Park City.

U.S. Route 530 (1927 to 1939)

U.S. Route 530 was created in 1927 as a spur of U.S. Route 30. U.S. 530 extended from a connection with U.S. Route 30S at Echo, Utah, south to Kimball Junction north of Park City, where it connected with U.S. Route 40. Some have reported that U.S. 530, at just 25 miles long, was the shortest *signed* U.S. Route in the nation.

(Read more about U.S. Route 530 at USEnds.com)

(Read the Wikipedia article about U.S. Route 30)

1927
The route of U.S. 530 between Kimball Junction and Echo Junction was part of the federal roads in Utah. "The federal government expended $830,083 on federal aid highways in Utah between July 1, 1926, and June 30, 1927, according to figures released today by the American Association of State Highway Officials. During this same period appropriations of $1,089,996 were made by the government for Utah highway projects. The survey further shows that the state now has 868 miles of improved federal aid roads and 1,944 miles of improved highway built without federal aid. The total road mileage in the state is 23,944, with 173 additional miles planned for the 1928 program." (Ogden Standard Examiner, April 15, 1928)

1927
The Utah State Road Commission's official road map of Utah for 1927 showed the route between Kimballs Junction and Echo Junction, by way of Wanship and Coalville as being U.S. Route 530. U.S. 30S is shown as the route along Echo Canyon from Wyoming to Echo Junction, then westward by way of Weber Canyon to Ogden. U.S. 40 is shown as the route from Colorado, through the Uinta Basin and Heber, then north to Kimballs Junction, then westward to Salt Lake City by way of Parley's Canyon. U.S. 530 was the connection between U.S. 40 at Kimballs Junction, and U.S. 30S at Echo Junction. U.S. 89 is not shown north of Spanish Fork.

(View the 57 Utah State Road Maps, 1910-2017, at the Utah State Archives)

September 22, 1928
U.S. 530 is shown as the route between Echo Junction and Kimball's Junction. (Salt Lake Tribune, September 22, 1928)

June 23, 1936
"U.S. Highway 89 from Flagstaff, Ariz., north to Yellowstone Park has been re-routed to pass through Salt Lake City, and numerous important Utah centers, according to a telegram from F. G. Martines, president of the Associated Civic Clubs of Southern Utah, who is in Chicago meeting with highway officials. The new route of the highway is from Flagstaff, via Kanab, Thistle, Provo, Salt Lake, Ogden, Brigham City, Logan, Logan Canyon, Montpelier, Idaho, and on to Yellowstone. The highway previously went from Provo to Heber City, thence through Kimball Junction to Coalville, on to Echo, Evanston and Sage Junction, from there to Kemmerer, Wyo., and Green River and through Big Piney to Yellowstone." (Deseret News, June 23, 1936)

(For a brief period before this change, U.S. 89 and U.S. 530 shared the route through Silver Creek Canyon between Kimball Junction and Wanship.)

August 4, 1936
The contract for the construction of an overhead crossing for U.S. 530 over the Union Pacific Park City Branch at Wanship was awarded to the Reynolds-Ely Construction Company, with a projected cost of $46,703. (Salt Lake Tribune, August 4, 1936)

November 25, 1937
"At Kimball Junction, where U.S. highway 530 goes northward from highway 40 to connect with the old Lincoln Highway" there was a sign that read "U.S. Highway 40 - The Shortest, Most Scenic Route To Denver." After a lease on the spot where the sign was located, the sign was replaced by Wyoming city groups, with the new sign reading, "U.S. Highway 30 Through Old Wyoming." (Vernal Express, November 25, 1937)

June 1, 1938
Wyoming officials and civic groups were petitioning to have the routing of U.S. 89 returned to its previous route before June 1936. (Deseret News, June 1, 1938)

July 1, 1938
With U.S. 40 soon to be complete connecting Utah and Colorado, groups from Vernal and the Uinta Basin were petitioning to have a sign placed at Kimball Junction advertising that U.S. 40 was the shortest route to Denver, instead of U.S. 30 through Wyoming. A poll of travelers at Kimball Junction had showed that nine out of ten travelers to Denver were going by way of U.S. 30 through Wyoming. A group of four boosters was working with service station and garage owners in the Heber Valley and Park City area to educate them of the advantages of the U.S. 40 route over the U.S. 30 route. (Uintah Basin Standard, July 1, 1938)

In reports of a fatal car crash in early August 1939, in numerous regional newspapers of August 3rd and 4th, U.S. Route 530 is mentioned as the route between Kimball Junction (U.S. 40) and Wanship (U.S. 189).

(No references to U.S. 530 in available online newspapers after August 1939, except for a reference in June 1944 when a sodium light was proposed for the intersection at Echo Junction.)

The 1939 Utah State Road map shows that the route between Kimball Junction and Wanship by way of Silver Creek Canyon, had been changed from federal U.S. 530, to Utah Route 530, or U. 530. This change included the creation of U.S. 189 (see below).

U.S. Route 189 (1939 to 1962)

(Although U.S. 189 was created in 1939, the route did not pass through Silver Creek Canyon until 1954. Between 1939 and 1954 the route through Silver Creek Canyon was designated as Utah Route 530, then as Utah Route 4, with maintenance being the responsibility of Utah and Summit County)

U.S. Highway 189 was created as a spur of U.S. Highway 89, between Provo, Utah, and Jackson, Wyoming, a distance of 322 miles.

U.S. 189 through Silver Creek Canyon was created in December 1938 at the annual convention of the American Association of State Highway Officials, held in Dallas, Texas. The executive committee made the following designations:

• The route of U.S. 89 as being from Provo to Salt Lake City, Ogden, Brigham City, Logan, Garden City, Montpelier, Star Valley, and Grand Canyon of the Snake River to Yellowstone Park.
• The Wyoming members of the Association had suggested that the route of U.S. 89 be from Provo to Heber, Kimball Junction, then Coalville, Evanston, Kemmerer and Big Piney to Yellowstone.
• The committee designated this latter route to be the new creation of U.S. 189.
• This original routing of U.S. 189 was from Provo to Heber, to Hailstone Junction, to Kamas, then north to Coalville and Echo Junction.
• The designation of U.S. 189 had previously been used for the branch between U.S. 91 at Nephi, and U.S. 89 by way of Salt Creek Canyon. This branch connecting U.S. 91 and U.S. 89 would be redesignated as a state route.
• (Salt Lake Tribune, December 13, 1938; Salt Lake Tribune, January 25, 1939)

January 25, 1939
The route of U.S. 189 was created, with the route being from Provo to Heber, to Hailstone Junction, to Kamas, to Wanship, Coalville and Echo. (Deseret News, January 25, 1939)

(The creation of U.S. 189, and the change of U.S. 530 to Utah 530 through Silver Creek Canyon, was done to ease the complaints of Kamas Valley residents for more direct access to Salt Lake City, and bring more traffic through their area for traffic bound to and from Wyoming, and to make the route to Mirror Lake more prominent for tourists.)

October 20, 1940
The route of U.S. 189 from Kimball Junction to Echo Junction by way of Silver Creek Canyon, was among the "First priority" group of roads with the highest priority, as military roads, to receive federal aid funds, as mentioned in a plan of U.S. Defense Roads, signed by the president on September 5th. Each highway was to be reviewed to ensure each was adequate for the national defense. "The fast movement of troops and military equipment required wide highways, strong bridges, a minimum of grades and curvature and a durable roadway." Also in the "First priority" group was all of U.S. 91 from the Arizona line to the Idaho line; U.S. 40 from Kimball Junction west to the Nevada line; U.S. 189 and 30 from Echo Junction east to the Wyoming line; and U.S. 30S from Brigham City to the Idaho line. (Salt Lake Tribune, October 20, 1940)

(The above comment, with U.S. 189 being between Kimball Junction to Echo Junction, does not match the Utah State Road Map for 1940, which shows the route as Utah 530.)

In 1947-1948, Utah Route 530 through Silver Creek Canyon was changed to Utah Route 4, with the change shown on the Utah State Road maps for 1947 and 1948-1949.

(A map in the February 9, 1949 issue of the Salt Lake Tribune continued to show the Silver Creek Canyon route as Utah 530.)

Silver Creek Junction

April 1953
Silver Creek Junction (2.6 miles east of Kimball Junction) was added when U.S. 40 from Heber was moved to a new alignment and junction with U.S. 30S from Echo and Wanship. The new alignment for U.S. 40 bypassed Park City and the rapidly increasing congestion as traffic, especially trucks, moved along the only route between Heber and Salt Lake City, passing through the north side of Park City. The new route reduced travel through the area by two miles. Construction of the new alignment began in April 1953 and was under way in late August 1954, with a price tag of $837,000 and a planned opening sometime in September. The new junction and alignment were opened for traffic on September 18, 1954. A new junction called Keetley Junction was established to connect the new Alternate U. S. 40 along the old route, providing federal highway access to Park City and rejoining U.S. 40 at Kimball Junction. (Deseret News, August 30, 1954, with maps; Vernal Express, September 23, 1954, "last Friday")

In 1954-1955, the route of U.S. 189 was changed from its route through Kamas, to continue north through Hailstone Junction to Kimball Junction, then east through Silver Creek Canyon to Wanship, then continue along its previous routing through Coalville, Echo and Evanston. The change is shown on the 1954 and 1955 Utah State Road maps.

The route by way of Kamas was changed to U.S. Alternate 189.

(The only references to U.S. 189 in available online newspapers in 1954 reported that five miles of U.S. 189 would be relocated to allow the construction of Wanship dam and Rockport reservoir, which indicates that the route was still by way of Kamas. No reference in 1955.)

(The last reference to Utah 4 was in the August 7, 1955 issue of the Salt Lake Tribune, referring to two landslides that closed Utah 4 between Kimball Junction and Wanship, as well as the Union Pacific branch.)

(The route of U.S. 189 between Kimball Junction and Wanship, by way of Silver Creek Canyon, continued from 1955 until Interstate 80 was opened in 1962.)

Interstate 80 (after 1962)

(Read the Wikipedia article about the Interstate Highway System of 1956)

Although operations on Union Pacific's Park City Branch were not affected, in June 1960 the appearance of Silver Creek Canyon began to change, with the construction of an all-new alignment for Interstate 80 south of the tracks on previously untouched land.

The existing U.S. Highway 189 on the north side had been on the original Lincoln Highway of the period after World War I, and was on the abandoned Utah Eastern alignment (abandoned in 1887). It was gradually improved over the years by making it wider and treating the surface with oil. It was later paved.

U.S. 189 remained in use during the construction of Interstate 80 through Silver Creek Canyon. Two-way traffic was diverted to the new eastbound lanes upon completion in 1962, and the old U.S. 189 alignment was rebuilt to become the new westbound lanes. The entire project was completed in May 1963.

The routing of Interstate 80 between Kimball Junction and Wanship by way of Silver Creek Canyon was approved by the state road commission on February 5, 1959. (Salt Lake Tribune, February 6, 1959)

The bids for the Silver Creek Junction to Wanship section of Interstate 80, through Silver Creek Canyon, were opened on April 2, 1960. The contract was awarded to W. W. Clyde on April 27th, for the cost of $2.1 million. (Salt Lake Tribune, April 27, 1960; Park Record, September 15, 1960)

November 21, 1962
"A $2.19 million section of fully controlled access Interstate highway between Wanship and Silver Creek Junction was opened for use Wednesday [Nov. 21]." The new highway section was on a new alignment east of Silver Creek and the railroad tracks. (Provo Daily Herald, November 22, 1962; Salt Lake Tribune, November 23, 1962)

May 1963
Interstate 80 was opened through Silver Creek Canyon, between Echo and Park City, replacing U.S. Route 189 along the same route.

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