U.S. Highway 16(US 16) is an east–westUnited States Numbered HighwaybetweenRapid City, South Dakota,andYellowstone National ParkinWyoming.The highway's eastern terminus is at a junction withInterstate 90(I-90)/US 14,concurrentwithI-190,in Rapid City. The western terminus is the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park, concurrent with US 14 andUS 20.US 16 used to extend all the way toMichiganbut has been truncated in favor of I-90 andI-96.
 U.S. Route 16 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 16 highlighted in red | ||||||||||
| Route information | ||||||||||
| Length | 540 mi[citation needed](870 km) | |||||||||
| Existed | 1926[citation needed]–present | |||||||||
| Major junctions | ||||||||||
| West end |   US 14/US 20atYellowstone National Parkentrance | |||||||||
| East end |     I-90/I-190/US 14/US 16 Truckin Rapid City, SD | |||||||||
| Location | ||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||
| States | Wyoming,South Dakota | |||||||||
| Highway system | ||||||||||
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Route description
edit| mi | km | |
|---|---|---|
| WY | 471 | 758 |
| SD | 68 | 109[1] |
| Total | 540 | 870 |
Wyoming
editUS 16 begins at the east entrance toYellowstone National Park,along withUS 14and the eastern segment ofUS 20.From the park, the three highwaysrun concurrentlytoCodyandGreybull.In Greybull, US 14 splits off to the east, while US 16/US 20 heads due south toBasinandWorland.In Worland, US 16 splits off from US 20 and heads east overPowder River Passon its way to the city ofBuffalo.After passing Buffalo, US 16 arches north to the community ofUcross,meeting US 14 again, before arching back south toGillette.US 16 then runs east concurrently withI-90between Gillette andMoorcroftbefore heading southeast to the towns ofUptonandNewcastle.The highway then heads east to the South Dakota state line. For most of the way through the state, the highway is a two-lane road.
South Dakota
editUS 16 is also known as Mount Rushmore Road in western South Dakota. From the state line, the highway travels nearJewel Cave,the third-longest cave in the world.[2]The highway goes through the city ofCusterand shares alignment withUS 385.East ofHill City,US 16 splits off US 385. It then becomes a four-lane divided highway, with the two roadways separated by up to a half-mile (0.80 km) in some places, including the old gold-mining town ofRockerville,which is contained entirely between the two roadways. In Rapid City, a truck bypass runs along Catron Boulevard and Elk Vale Road up to exit 61 onI-90.
The South Dakota section of US 16 is defined at South Dakota Codified Laws § 31-4-138.[3]
History
edit
US 16 originally connectedDetroitwith Yellowstone National Park, including a ferry link acrossLake MichiganbetweenMuskegon, Michigan,andMilwaukee, Wisconsin.In Michigan, the route was in use long before automobiles and was known to white settlers as the Grand River Road, and prior to the designation of U.S. Highways in 1926, had been designated as M-16 in the 1920s from Detroit to south of Muskegon. In 1938, reflectorized discs were placed on US 16 every 100 feet (30 m) from Detroit toLansing,resulting in fewer nighttime traffic accidents. Other states would later do the same on their roads.
US 16 initially crossed theSouth Dakota–Wyomingstate line west ofSpearfish.U.S. Highway 216(US 216) was commissioned in 1930 as a loop off US 16 to the south betweenRapid CityandMoorcroft,crossing the state line west ofCuster.In 1934, US 16 was moved to the US 216 alignment, while the former US 16 became part of an extension ofUS 14.
In Michigan, most of US 16 was superseded byI-96and a segment of Grand River Avenue in Detroit ultimately becameM-5.US 16 was later decommissioned inWisconsin,Minnesota,and eastern South Dakota to its present termini.[4]
Between Rapid City andDexter, Minnesota,it has been supplanted by I-90. InFaribault County, Minnesota,the highway took on another number as there was already a county highway numbered 16. Residents of the county continued referring to the road as "16" or "old 16" and eventually the county renumbered it as County Road 16 (CR 16). From the county's western border with Martin County, US 16 continued east through the city ofBlue Earthas part of 1st Street and Leland Parkway until it briefly combines withUS 169/Grove Street. One-half mile (0.80 km) south of that point at the intersection of Grove and 7th streets, CR 16 followed 7th Street and continued east to the border ofFreeborn County.Most of the stretch through Faribault County was a relatively narrow two-lane highway with wide gravel shoulders that has been widened at least two times since US 16 was decommissioned. East of Dexter, it is nowMinnesota State Highway 16andState Trunk Highway 16in Wisconsin. In South Dakota, it was replaced by various state highways (includingSouth Dakota Highway 38,or SD 38, andSD 248) and county roads: generally, inWest River,the old alignment was transferred to county responsibility entirely, while, inEast River,it remained a state-maintained highway.
An olderUS 16Ain South Dakota has becomeSD 240.
In South Dakota in 2009, theSouth Dakota Department of Transportationdesignated US 16/US 385between Custer andHill City,which passes by theCrazy Horse Memorial,now being carved in theBlack Hills,as the Crazy Horse Memorial Highway. This segment of US 385 is also a part of theGeorge HearstMemorial Highway.
Major intersections
editMileage resets at the state line crossing.
| State | County | Location | mi[5][6] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | Yellowstone National Park | 0.000 | 0.000 | Yellowstone National ParkEast Entrance | National western terminus of US 14 and US 16; western end of US 14 and US 20 concurrencies;US 20 resumes in Montanaat the park's west entrance | |
| Park | Cody | 49.410 | 79.518 |  WYO 291 | ||
| 51.900 | 83.525 |     US 14Aeast /WYO 120north –Powell | Western end of WYO 120 concurrency | |||
| 54.119 | 87.096 |  WYO 120south –Meeteetse,Thermopolis | Eastern end of WYO 120 concurrency | |||
| Big Horn | | 85.056 | 136.884 |   WYO 30east –Burlington | Western terminus of WYO 30 | |
| | 85.655 | 137.848 |  WYO 32north –Lovell | Southern terminus of WYO 32 | ||
| | 99.197 | 159.642 |    US 310north /WYO 789north –Lovell | Western end of WYO 789 concurrency; southern terminus of US 310 | ||
| Greybull | 204.05 | 328.39 | US 14east | Eastern end of US 14 concurrency | ||
| | 199.27 | 320.69 |  WYO 36(Golf Course Road) | |||
| Basin | 196.42 | 316.11 | WYO 30 | |||
| | 185.52 | 298.57 |  WYO 433 | |||
| Manderson | 184.35 | 296.68 |  WYO 31 | |||
| Washakie | Worland | 0.00 | 0.00 |  US 20east /WYO 789south /WYO 432south | Eastern end of US 20 and WYO 789 concurrencies; northern terminus of WYO 432 | |
| Ten Sleep | 26.42 | 42.52 |  WYO 434 | |||
| | 30.04 | 48.34 |  WYO 436 | |||
| | 33.90 | 54.56 |  WYO 435 | |||
| Johnson | Buffalo | 92.12 | 148.25 |     I-25 BL/US 87 Bus./WYO 196(Main Street) | Western end of WYO 196 concurrency | |
| 100.00 | 160.93 | I-25 BL/US 87 Bus./WYO 196(Main Street) | Eastern end of WYO 196 concurrency | |||
| | 100.61 | 161.92 |  I-25/US 87 | I-25 exit 299 | ||
| | 2.12 | 3.41 | I-90 | I-90 exit 58 | ||
| Sheridan | Ucross | 17.64 | 28.39 |  US 14west | Western end of US 14 concurrency | |
| | 54.72 | 88.06 |  WYO 341 | |||
| Campbell | | 102.07 | 164.27 |  WYO 59 | Western end of WYO 59 concurrency | |
| Gillette | 114.86 | 184.85 |  WYO 50(Skyline Drive) | |||
| 113.10 | 182.02 | WYO 59(Douglas Highway) | Eastern end of WYO 59 concurrency | |||
| 127.57 | 205.30 |   I-90west /WYO 51ahead | Western end of I-90 concurrency; I-90 exit 128 | |||
| Crook | Moorcroft | 153.41 | 246.89 |  I-90east | Eastern end of I-90 concurrency; I-90 exit 153 | |
| 153.56 | 247.13 | WYO 51 | ||||
| 200.00 | 321.87 | US 14east | Eastern end of US 14 concurrency | |||
| Weston | Upton | 219.83 | 353.78 |  WYO 116 | Western end of WYO 116 concurrency | |
| 220.13 | 354.26 | WYO 116 | Eastern end of WYO 116 concurrency | |||
| Osage | 233.29 | 375.44 |  WYO 451 | |||
| | 245.67 | 395.37 |  WYO 450 | |||
| Newcastle | 247.34 | 398.06 | US 16 Bus./US 16 Truck | |||
| 248.99 | 400.71 | US 16 Bus./US 16 Truck | ||||
| 249.82 | 402.05 |  US 85 | ||||
| 259.08 0.00 | 416.95 0.00 | Wyoming–South Dakota state line | ||||
| South Dakota | Custer | Custer | 26.46 | 42.58 |   US 385/SD 89 | Western end of US 385 and SD 89 concurrencies |
| 26.96 | 43.39 |  US 16A/SD 89 | Eastern end of SD 89 concurrency | |||
| Pennington | | 37.49 | 60.33 |  SD 87(Needles Highway) | ||
| | 37.69 | 60.66 |  SD 244 | |||
| Hill City | 40.51 | 65.19 | US 16 Truck/US 385 Truck | |||
| 41.06 | 66.08 | US 16 Truck/US 385 Truck | ||||
| | 45.00 | 72.42 | US 385 | Eastern end of US 385 concurrency | ||
| | 50.60 | 81.43 | US 16A | |||
| | Rockerville | Interchange; left exits and entrances | ||||
| Rapid City | 64.19 | 103.30 | US 16 Truck | |||
| 69.00 | 111.04 |   SD 44(Omaha Street) toI-190 | Eastern terminus | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
editRelated routes
editSpecial and suffixed routes
editReferences
edit- ^Office of Transportation Inventory Management (January 2017).State Highway Log: Rapid City Region(PDF).Pierre:South Dakota Department of Transportation.pp.23–24. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on April 9, 2017.RetrievedApril 8,2017.
- ^"Jewel Cave National Monument".National Park Service.RetrievedMay 18,2008.
- ^South Dakota Codified Laws.South Dakota Legislature.RetrievedApril 4,2023.
- ^Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (June 29, 1978)."Route Numbering Committee Agenda Showing Action Taken by the Executive Committee"(PDF)(Report). Washington, DC:American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.p. 3.RetrievedSeptember 2,2015– via Wikimedia Commons.
- ^Transportation Statistics (November 2004).Reference Marker Book(PDF).Cheyenne: Wyoming Department of Transportation. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on July 17, 2011.RetrievedApril 26,2011.
- ^Office of Transportation Inventory Management (January 2011).State Highway Log: Rapid City Region(PDF).Pierre: South Dakota Department of Transportation. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on February 10, 2011.RetrievedApril 13,2010.
External links
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