U.S. Route 6 in Utah - Route Description

Route Description

US-6 enters Utah overlapped with US-50 in the Great Basin, a large desert that includes much of western Utah. As part of the Basin and Range Province, the terrain alternates between north–south oriented flat valleys and mountain ranges. US-6 and US-50 cross the Snake Valley, Confusion Range (through Kings Canyon), Tule Valley, House Range (via Skull Rock Pass), and Pahvant Valley (passing north of Sevier Lake), finally reaching the town of Hinckley just before they split in Delta. US-6 turns to the northeast at that city, paralleling the Union Pacific Railroad's Lynndyl Subdivision to the west of the Canyon Mountains, Gilson Mountains, and East Tintic Mountains—three ranges that form the eastern boundary of the Basin and Range Province.

At Tintic Junction, the intersection with SR-36 in the Tintic Valley, US-6 turns east and ascends the East Tintic Mountains. It passes through the mining city of Eureka as it climbs to The Summit, before descending through Homansville Canyon into the Goshen Valley. Although it left behind the UP rail line at Tintic Junction, this part of US-6 parallels the former Tintic Branch of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, which has been partially abandoned. After passing through Goshen, the highway curves around the north side of Warm Springs Mountain and into the Utah Valley, where it enters Santaquin. On the east side of that city, US-6 begins an overlap with I-15, while the old alignment—SR-198—continues straight through Payson and Salem. After about 13 miles (21 km) together in the Utah Valley, US-6 and I-15 separate in Spanish Fork, the latter turning southeast onto a short two-lane expressway. SR-198 rejoins US-6 on the eastern outskirts of Spanish Fork, and soon thereafter US-89 joins at Moark Junction. The two routes—US-6 and US-89—begin an overlap here that extends through the Spanish Fork Canyon, alongside the UP Provo Subdivision (ex-D&RGW), to Thistle in the Wasatch Range. The remainder of US-6 to the Colorado state line parallels this rail line (which becomes the Green River Subdivision at Helper).

US-6 continues alone through the Spanish Fork Canyon, now alongside Soldier Creek, to Soldier Summit on the Wasatch Plateau, where it finally leaves the Great Basin into the watershed of the Colorado River. It begins to descend by following the White River, which empties into the Price River near Colton. The Price River takes US-6 down through the Price Canyon, the west edge of the Book Cliffs, joining US-191 at Castle Gate. The land flattens and opens out at Helper, named for the helper locomotives needed to carry trains up to Soldier Summit, and US-6 continues southeasterly around Price on a two-lane freeway bypass, with the old alignment marked as both a business route and SR-55. Relatively flat land continues as US-6 parallels the Book Cliffs to the southwest and west, crossing the Price River at Woodside. West of Green River, US-6 joins I-70/US-50, which it overlaps for the remainder of its stay in Utah. Now south of the Book Cliffs, the four routes head east to Crescent Junction, where US-191 splits to the south. As it begins to approach the Colorado River, the highway curves northeasterly through the Grand Valley and into Colorado.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 519 fatal and serious injury crashes between Spanish Fork and Green River in Utah from 1996–2008, leading the stretch to be considered one of the deadliest roads in the U.S.

US-6 forms an arch-shaped route with Spanish Fork at the apex. The western half of the arch is the road less traveled, passing through the Great Basin desert, Sevier Lake, Delta, Eureka and the Tintic Standard Reduction Mill.

The eastern half is a popular transportation corridor, paralleling the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad's transcontinental line. This half passes over Soldier Summit and the historic railroad hub of Helper.

Starting in the spring of 1983, US-6 was a discontinuous route for almost one year, due to a massive landslide that destroyed the town of Thistle. During this time traffic was routed on two detours. One, via Salina, Utah, was over 200 miles (320 km) long and took traffic almost 100 aerial miles from the route of US-6. The other, via Duchesne, Utah, was shorter. However, this detour traversed steep grades and was not recommended for trucks. The night before the rebuilt US-6 opened, the highway stubs at either side of the landslide were filled with tens of miles of trucks, the drivers tired of the lost revenue from the long detours. The landslide remains the most costly in the history of the United States. Two rest areas along US-6 pay tribute to the residents of the town who lost everything.

US-6 in Utah passes through or by several ghost towns including Tintic, Thistle, Tucker, Soldier Summit, Colton, Woodside and Cisco. Most of these towns were either mining or railroad based.

The 120 miles (190 km) section of US-6 between Spanish Fork and Price is considered one of the deadliest stretches of highway in the United States. A high volume of trucks and automobiles travel that stretch at interstate speeds, along hairpin turns, through narrow canyons.