U.S. Route 287 in Montana
U.S. Highway 287 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 287 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byMDT | ||||
| Length | 281.183 mi[1](452.520 km) | |||
| Existed | 1965–present | |||
| Tourist routes |  Lewis and Clark Trail | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | Yellowstone National ParkatWest Yellowstone | |||
| ||||
| North end |  US 89inChoteau | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Montana | |||
| Counties | Gallatin,Madison,Jefferson,Broadwater,Lewis and Clark | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
U.S. Route 287(US 287) is a north-southUnited States Numbered Highwayin the state ofMontana.It extends approximately 281.2 miles (452.5 km) fromYellowstone National Parknorth toU.S. Route 89inChoteau,100 miles (160 km) south of theCanadian border.
Route description[edit]
US 287 in Montana begins at the West Entrance to Yellowstone National ParkconcurrentwithUS 20and US 287, at the edge of the town ofWest Yellowstone.Some commercially produced maps show US 287 going through Yellowstone National Park; however, it officially has a gap inside the park and resumes inWyomingat the South Entrance, concurrent withUS 89andUS 191.A few blocks into West Yellowstone, US 20 leaves the US 191 / US 287 concurrency and heads west towards theTarghee PassandIdaho.The highway heads north, running concurrently with US 191 for 8 miles (13 km) before it heads west for 22 miles (35 km), passing along the north shores ofHebgen LakeandEarthquake Lake,toMontana Highway 87(MT 87). US 287 turns north-northwest and follows theMadison Riverfor 40 miles (64 km) toEnnis,where it intersectsMT 287,and continues north for 16 miles (26 km) toNorris,where it intersectsMT 84.It continues for 19 miles (31 km) toMT 2,just north ofSappington,where it turns east and the two routes share a ten-mile (16 km) concurrency. AtThree Forks Junction,MT 2 leaves US 287 and heads east towardsThree Forks,while US 287 turns north and travels for1+1⁄4miles (2.0 km) toI-90.
US 287 heads north for 30 miles (48 km) toTownsend,where it merges withUS 12,and the two routes travel northwest for 44 miles (71 km) toHelena.On the east side of Helena, the combined route intersectsI-15,where US 287 continues north on I-15 and US 12 heads west through downtown Helena. US 287 follows I-15 for 25 miles (40 km), and exits I-15 northeast ofWolf Creekand heads northwest. It travels for 18 miles (29 km) toMT 200,20 miles (32 km) toMT 21(about1+1⁄2miles (2.4 km) north ofAugusta), and 25 miles (40 km) toChoteauwhere it ends atUS 89.[1][2]
US 287 is one of three highways in Montana numbered '287', the other two beingMontana Highway 287(MT 287) andMontana Secondary Highway 287(S-287). Both routes are accessible to US 287, with MT 287 intersecting it in Ennis, while S-287 intersects MT 2 in Three Forks, about 3 miles (5 km) east of US 287.
History[edit]
US 287 was originally designated as Montana State Highway 287 (MT 287). The Montana State Highway Commission first assigned the MT 287 designation in 1958 to a cross-state route fromYellowstone National Parkat West Yellowstone to theCanada–United States borderat thePiegan–Carway Border CrossingbetweenBabbandCardston, Alberta.MT 287 ran concurrently withUS 191for 8 miles (13 km) north from West Yellowstone and replacedMT 1from US 191 toUS 10SnearSappington.The route joined US 10S—along the modernInterstate 90(I-90) corridor—to its junction withUS 10andUS 10NnearThree Forks.MT 287 continued with US 10N north and west to Helena, then the route ran concurrently withUS 91(along the modernI-15corridor) toWolf Creek.MT 287 replacedMT 33between Wolf Creek andChoteau,then the highway ran concurrently withUS 89throughBrowningto Canada.[3][4]After theHebgen Lake earthquakein 1959, which destroyed part of the highway alongthat lakeand createdQuake Lake,MT 287 was temporarily rerouted to the highway north fromRaynolds Pass.[4][5]
In 1961, MT 287 was rerouted and replaced MT 34 from Ennis to Twin Bridges, ran concurrently withMT 41to north ofSilver Star,and replacedS-401north to US 10 at Whitehall. MT 287 continued east with US 10 to rejoin its previous route west of Three Forks. The portion of the highway between Ennis and the US 10 junction becameMT 287A.[6][7]
In 1965, the US 287 designation was extended north fromDenver, Coloradoalong its present alignment, replacing sections of MT 287 south of Ennis and north of Sappington, as well as all of MT 287A; the MT 287/US 89 concurrency north of Choteau was also dropped.[8][9]The Montana Highway Commission requested the extension following lobbying from the U.S. Highway 287 Association and prior rejections from the AASHO, seeking a direct connection to either the Canadian border orGlacier National Park.[10]
Major intersections[edit]
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallatin | Yellowstone National Park | −2.1 | −3.4 | West Entrance Road | Continuation intoWyoming;US 20resumes at Yellowstone National Park's East Entrance;US 191/US 287resume at the park's South Entrance | |||
| 0.000 | 0.000 | Yellowstone National ParkWest Entrance | Southern end of state maintenance of US 20/US 191/US 287 concurrency | |||||
| West Yellowstone | 0.365 | 0.587 |   US 20west (Firehold Avenue) –Idaho Falls | Northern end of US 20 concurrency | ||||
| | 8.722 | 14.037 |   US 191north –Bozeman | Northern end of US 191 concurrency | ||||
| Madison | | 31.147 | 50.126 |   MT 87south –Raynolds Pass,Ashton ID | ||||
| 62.473 | 100.541 |  S-249north | ||||||
| Ennis | 71.563 | 115.169 |  MT 287west –Virginia City,Sheridan | |||||
| Norris | 87.858 | 141.394 |   MT 84east –Bozeman | |||||
| Harrison | 98.044 | 157.787 |  S-283west –Pony | |||||
| | 99.618 | 160.320 |  S-359west | |||||
| Gallatin |
No major junctions | |||||||
| Jefferson | | 106.407 | 171.245 |  MT 2west –Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park,Butte | Southern end of MT 2 concurrency | |||
| Broadwater | Three Forks Junction | 116.146 | 186.919 | MT 2east –Three Forks | Northern end of MT 2 concurrency | |||
| | 117.418 | 188.966 |  I-90/Lewis and Clark Trail–Butte,Billings | I-90 exit 274 | ||||
| 127.281 | 204.839 |  S-437north | ||||||
| Toston | 136.938 | 220.380 |  S-285west –Radersburg | |||||
| Townsend | 147.873 | 237.979 |  US 12east –White Sulphur Springs | Southern end of US 12 concurrency | ||||
| Lewis and Clark | Louisville | 168.716 | 271.522 |  S-284north | ||||
| East Helena | 175.622 | 282.636 |  S-518south –Montana City | |||||
| Helena | 191.602 | 308.354 | 192 |   I-15south –Butte  I-15 BLnorth /US 12west (Prospect Avenue) – Helena (CapitolArea) | Northern end of US 12 concurrency, southern end of I-15 concurrency, exit numbers follow I-15 | |||
| 181.113 | 291.473 | 193 |  I-15 BLsouth (Cedar Street) | |||||
| 181.809 | 292.593 | 194 | Custer Avenue | |||||
| 187.876 | 302.357 | 200 |   S-279/S-453(Lincoln Road) | |||||
| | 196.914 | 316.902 | 209 | Gates of the Mountains | ||||
| 203.781 | 327.954 | 216 | Sieben | |||||
| 207.008 | 333.147 | 219 | Spring Creek | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||||
| 214.564 | 345.307 | 226 |  S-434–Wolf Creek | |||||
| 216.363 | 348.202 | 228 |  I-15north /Lewis and Clark Trail–Great Falls | Northern end of I-15 concurrency | ||||
| Bowman's Corner | 236.785 | 381.069 |  MT 200/Lewis and Clark Trail–Lincoln,Great Falls | |||||
| Augusta | 254.967 | 410.330 |  S-435south (Main Street) | |||||
| | 256.401 | 412.637 |  MT 21east –Great Falls | |||||
| Teton | 262.423 | 422.329 |  S-408east –Fairfield | |||||
| Choteau | 281.183 | 452.520 | US 89(Main Avenue) /Lewis and Clark Trail–Glacier National Park,Great Falls | US 287 northern terminus | ||||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||||||
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abcRoad Inventory and Mapping Section (2019).Montana Road Log(PDF).Helena:Montana Department of Transportation.pp. 6–7, 72–74, 90, 179–181, 242. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 20, 2020.RetrievedDecember 29,2020.
- ^Montana Department of Transportation (2019).Montana Official Highway Map(PDF)(Map). Helena: Montana Department of Transportation. §§ C4-E4, E5-I5.RetrievedDecember 29,2020.
- ^Montana State Highway Commission; Rand McNally & Company (1958).Map of the Montana State Highway System(PDF)(Map) (1958 ed.). Helena: Montana State Highway Commission. §§ G4–G5.RetrievedMarch 24,2017.
- ^abMontana State Highway Commission; Rand McNally & Company (1959).Map of the Montana State Highway System(PDF)(Map) (1959 ed.). Helena: Montana State Highway Commission. §§ G4–G5.RetrievedMarch 24,2017.
- ^Montana State Highway Commission; Rand McNally & Company (1960).Map of the Montana State Highway System(PDF)(Map) (1960 ed.). Helena: Montana State Highway Commission. §§ G4–G5.RetrievedMarch 24,2017.
- ^Montana State Highway Commission; Rand McNally & Company (1961).Map of the Montana State Highway System(PDF)(Map) (1961 ed.). Helena: Montana State Highway Commission. §§ G4–G5.RetrievedMarch 24,2017.
- ^Montana State Highway Commission; Rand McNally & Company (1962).Map of the Montana State Highway System(PDF)(Map) (1962 ed.). Helena: Montana State Highway Commission. §§ G4–G5.RetrievedMarch 24,2017.
- ^Montana State Highway Commission; Rand McNally & Company (1965).Montana Highways(PDF)(Map) (1965 ed.). Helena: Montana State Highway Commission. §§ G4–G5.RetrievedMarch 24,2017.
- ^Montana State Highway Commission; Rand McNally & Company (1966).Montana Highways(PDF)(Map) (1966 ed.). Helena: Montana State Highway Commission. §§ G4–G5.RetrievedMarch 24,2017.
- ^"Highway Commission Seeks Extension of U.S. 287".Independent Record.Helena, MT. April 27, 1965. p. 3.RetrievedSeptember 18,2022– viaNewspapers.com.
External links[edit]
Media related toU.S. Route 287 in Montanaat Wikimedia Commons
