Utah State Route 45

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State Route 45 marker
State Route 45
Route information
Defined by Utah Code §72-4-110
Maintained by UDOT
Length40.028 mi[1] (64.419 km)
Existed1925 as a state highway; 1927 as SR-45–present
Major junctions
South endDragon Road near Bonanza
North end US 40 in Naples
Highway system
  • State highways in Utah
← SR-44→ SR-46

State Route 45 (SR-45) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Utah. It runs from Dragon Road south of Bonanza in Uintah County north to US-40 in Naples, south of Vernal. The route spans 40.03 miles (64.42 km) south–north.

The route was added to the state highway system in 1925 and numbered in 1927, originally running from US-40 southeast to the Colorado state line. Subsequently, the highway was moved to a new road in 1943, truncated to Bonanza in 1968, and again moved and extended in 1982.

Route description[]

The route begins at the intersection of Dragon Road south of Bonanza as a two-lane undivided road. From there, it heads north-northwest and passes through Bonanza. Past the settlement, the route goes in a northwest direction for the rest of its path and enters in Naples as 1500 East, where it terminates at US-40.[2]

History[]

The road now known as Snake John Reef Road, running southeast from SR-6 (US-40) to the state line, was added to the state highway system in 1925[3] and numbered SR-45 in 1927.[4] Across the state line, this connected with the original alignment of State Highway 64.[5][6] In 1943, the route was shifted west, now following Old Bonanza Highway from US-40 south to Bonanza.[7] An extension south to the state line via Dragon was added in 1945,[8] with an unnumbered unimproved road (briefly [citation needed]) continuing over to US 50 near Mack, Colorado.[9] The same year, State Route 207 was created as a short spur, now Bitter Creek Road, to .[10] The State Road Commission removed these 1945 additions from the state highway system in 1968, cutting SR-45 back to Bonanza.[11]

The commission proposed in 1957, and the legislature approved in 1961, the creation of State Route 264 from the north to US-40 at Jensen.[12] However, the road was given back to Uintah County in 1969.[13] Subsequently, the county constructed and improved two roads, one running southeast from US-40 near Naples to former SR-264, and the other continuing from old SR-264 west of the oil field to SR-45. Both of these became part of SR-45 in 1982, when that route was moved farther west, keeping only a short piece of the 1943 alignment near Bonanza. It was simultaneously extended back south from Bonanza, across the White River, to its present terminus near the (oil shale).[14]

Major intersections[]

The entire route is in Uintah County. [15]

Location[15]mi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
​0.0000.000Dragon RoadSouthern terminus
Naples40.02864.419 US 40 (Dinosaur Diamond Scenic Byway) – VernalNorthern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References[]

Route map:

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KML is not from Wikidata
  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "State Route 45 Highway reference". Utah Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
  2. ^ "Google Maps". Google.
  3. ^ Utah State Legislature (1925). "Chapter 71: Designation of State Roads". Session Laws of Utah. (k) From Heber City [...] to Duchesne. From a point approximately eight (8) miles west of the "K" ranch on the Victory highway, thence in a southeasterly direction to the Colorado State line, a distance of ten and four tenths (10.4) miles.
  4. ^ Utah State Legislature (1927). "Chapter 21: Designation of State Roads". Session Laws of Utah. 45. From a point on the State highway east of Vernal and approximately eight (8) miles west of the Utah-Colorado State line, thence in a southerly direction about ten and a half (10½) miles to the Utah-Colorado State line.
  5. ^ Colorado Department of Transportation, Highways to the Sky: A Context and History of Colorado's Highway System: "Appendix C2: Scheme for Colorado State Highways, Federal Aid System, May 14, 1923" (PDF). (245 KB): "No. 64: Meeker down White River via Rangeley, to Utah State Line."
  6. ^ Rand McNally & Company, Texaco Road Map: Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, 1937
  7. ^ Utah State Legislature (1943). "Chapter 45: Highways". Session Laws of Utah. Route 45. From Junction on route 6 east of Vernal at Powder Springs Wash south to Bonanza, approximately 23 miles.
  8. ^ Utah State Legislature (1945). "Chapter 61: State Roads and Routes". Session Laws of Utah. Route 45. From route 6 east of Vernal at Powder Springs Wash south via Bonanza, Watson and Dragon to the Utah-Colorado state line.
  9. ^ Utah State Road Commission (Rand McNally), Utah Official Highway Map, 1956
  10. ^ Utah State Legislature (1945). "Chapter 61: State Roads and Routes". Session Laws of Utah. Route 207. From Watson on route 45 southwesterly to Rainbow.
  11. ^ Utah Department of Transportation, Highway Resolutions: "Route 207". (1.24 MB), updated November 2007, accessed May 2008
  12. ^ Utah State Legislature (1961). "Chapter 58: Designation of State Roads". Session Laws of Utah. Route 264. From the Red Wash Oil Field Housing Development, northerly to route 6 near Jensen.
  13. ^ Utah Department of Transportation, Highway Resolutions: "Route 264". (1.62 MB), updated December 2007, accessed May 2008
  14. ^ Utah Department of Transportation, Highway Resolutions: "Route 45". (3.25 MB), updated October 2007, accessed May 2008
  15. ^ "State Highway Map". Utah Department of Transportation. Retrieved 6 July 2008.
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