Utah State Route 51

State Route 51
Route information
Defined by Utah Code §72-4-111
Maintained by UDOT
Length:	3.339 mi[1] (5.374 km)
Existed:	1992 – present
Major junctions
South end:	SR-147 in Spanish Fork
North end:	US-89 in Springville
Highway system
State highways in Utah Interstate • US State Minor Parks Scenic ← US-50 SR-52 →

State Route 51 is a short highway completely within Utah County in northern Utah that connects SR-147 to US-89. The highway runs for three miles (5 km) and is an old routing of U.S. Route 91.

Route description

The route begins at the intersection of 400 North (SR-147) and Childs Road in Spanish Fork, SR-51 heading northeast as a two-lane undivided highway on the latter. As the road exits Spanish Fork, it heads into a rural portion of Utah County. The continues northeast until 1600 North south of Springville, where the road turns north. The road continues north until terminating at a grade-separated intersection with US-89, one of the oldest grade-separated intersections in Utah.^[2][3]

History

The road from Spanish Fork to Springville (leaving the latter on 800 North) was added to the state highway system in 1910,^[4] and in the 1920s it became part of SR-1 (US-91).^[5] In 1964, when SR-1 was moved to the newly completed I-15 in the area, the old route between Spanish Fork and Springville became an extension of SR-156 (which had been created in 1962 as a short connection between old and new SR-1 at exit 257).^[6] In 1992, because of safety problems at "Maggie's Bend", where SR-156 turned from 800 North onto Childs Road in eastern Spanish Fork, caused in part by superelevation of the curve, 800 North was given to the city and the state took over Childs Road. This split SR-156 in two (with the original section, serving as a spur since 1964, becoming part of the mainline), and the portion on Childs Road and to Springville became a new State Route 51.^[7]

The junction with US-89 at the north end of SR-51 is a grade separated interchange constructed in 1959 (as the split of US-89 and US-91),^[8] making this one of the oldest grade separated interchanges in Utah still in use. Although portions of Interstate 15 were constructed in 1955, the Beck Street interchange (I-15/US-89) is the only original structure from 1955 still in use.^[9]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Utah County. ^[10]

Location[10]	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Spanish Fork	0.000	0.000	SR-147 (400 North)	Southern terminus
Springville	3.339	5.374	US-89 (Main Street)	Northern terminus; Grade-separated intersection
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Route map: Bing / Google

1. "State Route 51 Highway reference". Utah Department of Transportation.
2. "Utah Highway Pages". Stober, Dan.
3. "Google Maps". Google.
4. Utah Department of Transportation, Highway Resolutions: "Route 1". (35.4 MB), updated September 2007, accessed May 2008
5. Rand McNally Auto Road Atlas, 1926
6. Utah Department of Transportation, Highway Resolutions: "Route 156". (3.82 MB), updated November 2007, accessed May 2008
7. Utah Department of Transportation, Highway Resolutions: "Route 51". (3.72 MB), updated October 2007, accessed May 2008
8. "National Bridge Inventory structure 3D 603". Svirsky, Alexander R. using National Bridge Inventory data from the Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
9. "National Bridge Inventory structure 0C 493 (search result for query for all bridges on route 15 in Salt Lake County)". Svirsky, Alexander R. using National Bridge Inventory data from the Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
10. "State Highway Map". Utah Department of Transportation. Retrieved 22 April 2008.