Utah State Route 128

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For the former highway, see Utah State Route 128 (1931-1933).

State Route 128 marker

State Route 128

Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway
Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway
Route information
Maintained by UDOT
Length44.564 mi[1] (71.719 km)
Existed1931–present
Major junctions
West end US 191 near Moab
East end I-70 / US 6 / US 50 near Cisco
Location
CountryUnited States
StateUtah
Highway system
  • Utah State Highway System
← SR-127→ SR-130
Blind corners without shoulders are common along State Route 128

State Route 128 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Utah. The entire length of the highway has been designated the Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway by the State of Utah. The highway also forms part of the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway, a National Scenic Byway. The highway is commonly called the river road by residents of Moab,[2] referring to the Colorado River, which the highway follows.

The highway was originally constructed to connect rural cities in eastern Utah with Grand Junction, Colorado, the largest city in the region. The highway is now primarily used as a scenic byway for tourism and recreation. The Dewey Bridge, a landmark along the route, is the longest suspension bridge in Utah and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In April 2008, the Dewey Bridge was destroyed by a fire started by a child playing with matches.

Route description

As parts of the road are very narrow, with no shoulders and blind corners, the Utah Department of Transportation has prohibited trucks and vehicles over 55,000 pounds (24,948 kg) from the entire highway. In addition, a restriction at the western end of the road requires vehicles over 15 feet (4.6 m) wide to have two police escorts.[3]

Colorado River

State Route 128 begins just north of Moab where it is commonly known as the river road. The highway follows the southern bank of the Colorado River until the Dewey Bridge, near the Colorado state line. The highway traverses many landmarks of the Moab area while following the southern bank of the river. Between Moab and Castle Valley, the Colorado River, and indirectly, Route 128, form the southern boundary of Arches National Park. While the highway does offer views of several features in the park, there is no park access along the highway.[4]

The highway passes by Castle Valley and Professor Valley, which have been the filming locations for many western movies and commercials.[5][6] Onion Creek and Fisher Towers are attractions at the east end of the valley. Onion Creek receives its name from naturally occurring minerals that produce a strong odor in the stream.[7] The Fisher Towers are dark red spires that tower over the valley. After leaving the valley, the road winds farther up the river gorge until it arrives at the Dewey Bridge. At the Dewey Bridge, it crosses the river and follows the northern bank of the river for a few miles then turns north to terminate at Interstate 70 near Cisco.[4]

Dewey Bridge

The Dewey Bridge carried SR-128 across the Colorado River until its retirement in 1988

The Dewey Bridge, built in 1916 by the Midland Bridge Company, originally carried SR-128 across the Colorado River.[8] The bridge consisted of 2 metal towers, a wooden deck measuring 502 feet (153 m) long and 10.2 feet (3.1 m) wide, 2 runs of 7 cables on either side of the bridge deck, and concrete cable anchors.[9] The bridge was designed to support the weight of 6 horses, 3 wagons, and 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg) of freight.[10]

On the day of its completion, it was the 2nd longest cable suspension bridge in the United States west of the Mississippi River. The longest was also built by the Midland Bridge Company, who used the same base plans for both bridges. The longer twin to the Dewey Bridge crossed the Little Colorado River along U.S. Route 89 in Cameron, Arizona. The Dewey Bridge remained the longest suspension bridge in Utah until it was destroyed by fire in 2008.[11]

As part of a tribute, a reporter for the The Daily Sentinel interviewed locals and visitors about their first experience crossing the bridge. Many recalled the nerve it took as the bridge would creak and sway under load. One stated, "A lot of people lost a lot of mirrors on that bridge".[12] Drivers with wide vehicles had to fold in their side mirrors to safely cross, as the bridge deck was only 8 feet (2.4 m) feet wide.[11]

After being replaced for automobile use, the Dewey Bridge was used by the Kokopelli trail (a bike trail) and a pedestrian trail. The east approach to the bridge features an abandoned gas station and the ghost town of Dewey. The west approach has been converted to a rest area and park.[4]

The Dewey Bridge was destroyed in April 2008 by a brush fire

On April 6, 2008, a seven-year old boy accidentally started a fire in a nearby campground while playing with matches. The fire moved up the riverbank and destroyed the bridge's wooden deck and rails.[13][14]

The Grand County commission voted to rebuild the bridge pending the results of a cost and feasibility study and the ability to raise funds. The study will include a metallurgical analysis of the metal towers and cables for damage from the heat. As replicas do not qualify for historical status, historians are debating if using the original towers and cable is enough for the structure to qualify as historical.[15] Preliminary estimates place reconstruction costs at around $1 million. Grand County has set up an account for interested parties to donate to the reconstruction effort.[16]

History

The Fisher Towers, landmark along route 128

From trail to highway

The route was originally a trail called the Heavenly Stairway and was used to connect Moab with Castle Valley and larger towns in Colorado. It was gradually upgraded to a dirt toll road and called King's Toll Road after Samuel King, an early area settler who also operated the ferry used until the Dewey Bridge was complete.[9] Even today, rock cairns inscribed with "Kings Toll Road" can still be found along the roadway.

In 1912 Grand County unsuccessfully petitioned the state to finance the construction of a bridge. In 1913, the ferry was out of service for a time because ice in the river struck the ferry, causing it to sink. This raised the level of urgency for a more reliable river crossing. Grand County held a municipal bond election, and was able to raise $25,000 (1913, $506000 in 2007) to finance the construction of a bridge. The county employed the Midland Bridge Company of Kansas City, Missouri to build it. Plans originally called for the bridge deck to be 12 feet (3.7 m) wide, but with the bonds not producing the desired yields, the deck width was scaled down to 8 feet (2.4 m) in order to save money. In 1916, the bridge was dedicated with a strength test by having approximately 70 attendees attempt to be on the bridge at once. The total was seven wagons, two people on horseback and several on foot.[11]

Following the Colorado River

The bridge was finished by 1916 and the rest of the road was finished and fully passable by 1920.[9] The road was briefly used for the route of the Midland Trail between Green River and Cisco, however by 1923, the trail had been moved to a more direct routing similar to modern I-70.[17][18] The road from Moab along the river to Castleton was added to the state highway network in 1931 (though it was known as SR-129 for its first two years).[19] In 1933, the route was redesignated as SR-128 and extended to Cisco.[20] The highway was gradually upgraded to a two-lane paved roadway.

Recent changes

The state legislature extended SR-128 about 3 miles (5 km) at its east end in 1969 following the old alignment of SR-4 (US-6/US-50) west from near Cisco to the proposed junction with I-70. When that part of I-70 was completed in 1971, signs were changed to SR-128 on its portion of the old road, while the remainder through Cisco was relinquished to the county.[21]

An agreement was reached in 1984 between the Grand County Commission and the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) to balance the conflicting public demands to retire and preserve the aging bridge. As part of this agreement, UDOT would commission a new bridge and once finished, transfer ownership of the original bridge back to Grand County. Grand County agreed to petition to have the bridge be included in the National Register of Historic Places, assume maintenance and guarantee the bridge would be preserved.[22] The nomination was approved and the bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 1984-07-12.[23] In 1988, the replacement bridge was completed,[12][24] and the last single lane bridge crossing Sagers Wash was replaced with a two lane span.[25] The title deed to the Dewey Bridge was handed over to the county in 1989[22] and the restoration was completed in 2000.[12]

Castle Valley and Castle Rock. Filming location for many western movies and commercials

The highway was recognized by the Utah Scenic Byways program for its scenic value and given the name Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway.[26][27] The highway was recognized as a National Scenic Byway and named as part of the Dinosaur Diamond Scenic Byway in 1998.[28] A petition is currently before the Federal Highway Administration to recognize Route 128 as an All-American Road. To meet this criteria the highway must be deemed by the administration to have enough scenic value to be a "destination unto itself". The FHWA has not yet responded to the application as of July 2008.[28]

Major intersections

County Location[4] Mile[1] Junction Notes
Grand County 0.000 US 191 – Moab - Jct. I-70
1.088 View area - Camping information and Riverway Regulations
3.388 Campgrounds
6.348 View area - Drinks Canyon
8.112 View area - Big Bend
Castle Valley 15.529 Manti-La Sal National Forest - Castle Valley
Professor Valley 20.157 Onion Creek Road
20.994 View area - Fisher Towers
26.634 Rest area - Dewey Bridge
Dewey 29.797 Dewey Bridge
29.989 Kokopelli Trail
34.586 Kokopelli Trail
41.530 Cisco road Former US 6 / US 50
44.432 I-70 / US 6 / US 50 – Thompson Springs, Grand Junction, Colorado
44.564 End State Maintenance

References

  1. ^ a b "Route 0128P". Utah Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  2. ^ Jeff Schmerker. "Moab, Thou Art My Washpot -London, Tokyo, Paris, Moab..." Utah Travel Industry/ Utah Travel Council.
  3. ^ "State of Utah, Secondary Highways with Additional Restrictions" (PDF). Utah Motor Carrier Division / Utah Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  4. ^ a b c d Utah Road and Recreation Atlas (Map). 1:170000. Benchmark Maps. 2002. p. 71. ISBN 0-929591-74-7.
  5. ^ "Utah Wilderness Inventory - Mary Jane Canyon" (PDF). Bureau of Land Management/Government Printing Office. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  6. ^ "Professor Valley Field Camp Rental". Canyonlands Field Institute. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  7. ^ "Onion Creek TMDL Grand County, Utah" (PDF). Utah Department of Environmental Quality/Division of Water Quality. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  8. ^ Nicolas Janberg (compiled data from U.S. Library of Congress). "Structurae - Dewey Bridge". Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  9. ^ a b c Daughters of Utah Pioneers (1972). Grand Memories. pp. p127, 144. OCLC 4790603. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  10. ^ "Utah History Resource Center - Markers and Monuments - Dewey Bridge". State of Utah. 2006-10. Retrieved 2007-10-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ a b c "Historic American Engineering Record - UT0411". U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  12. ^ a b c Harmon, Gary (2008-04-07). "Historic Dewey Bridge lost to fire". Grand Junction, Colorado: The Daily Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  13. ^ The Daily Sentinel staff (2008-04-07). "Fire destroys Dewey Bridge". Grand Junction, Colorado: The Daily Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  14. ^ Pictures of the bridge burning at smugmug.
  15. ^ Schenck, Travis (2008-05-30). "Preservation committee launches Dewey Bridge feasibility study". Moab, Utah: The Times-Independent. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  16. ^ Georg, Ron (2008-05). "Group seeks donations to rebuild Dewey Bridge". Moab, Utah: The Times Independent. Retrieved 2008-06-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "Midland Trail Will Come down River by Way of Moab, Legislature Decides". Moab, Utah: Grand Valley Times. 1919-04-19. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  18. ^ "Paving Must Come in 1923; Work on Details is Pushed,". Price, Utah: The News-Advocate. 1923-02-01. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  19. ^ Utah State Legislature (1931). "Chapter 55: Designation of State Roads". Session Laws of Utah. (129) From Moab along south bank of Colorado river to Castleton.
  20. ^ Utah State Legislature (1933). "Chapter 30". Session Laws of Utah. (128) From Moab along south bank of Colorado river to Cisco.
  21. ^ Utah Department of Transportation, Highway Resolutions: Template:PDFlink, (September 2007), Retrieved on 2008-05-15
  22. ^ a b Utah Department of Transportation, Highway Resolutions: Template:PDFlink, (November 2007), Retrieved on 2008-05-15
  23. ^ "National Register Information system". National Park Service. Retrieved 2004-12-02.
  24. ^ Alexander R Svirsky. "National Bridge Inventory". Alexander R Svirsky using compiled data from Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  25. ^ Alexander R Svirsky. "National Bridge Inventory". Alexander R Svirsky using compiled data from Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  26. ^ "Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway 128". Utah Office of Tourism. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  27. ^ "Utah Administrative Code". State of Utah. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  28. ^ a b "Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway". Dinosaur Diamond Partnership. Retrieved 2007-11-17.

External links

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