Utah State Route 143

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State Route 143 marker

State Route 143

Brian Head-Panguitch Lake Scenic Byway
Utah's Patchwork Parkway
Route information
Maintained by UDOT
Length51.206 mi[1] (82.408 km)
Existed1933[2]–present
Tourist
routes		 Utah's Patchwork Parkway
Major junctions
West end I-15 in Parowan
East end US 89 in Panguitch
Location
CountryUnited States
StateUtah
Highway system
  • Utah State Highway System
← SR-142→ SR-144

State Route 143 (SR-143) is a

Utah Scenic Byways program. This road has also been designated as Utah's Patchwork Parkway as part of the National Forest Scenic Byway and National Scenic Byway
programs.

At just over 51 miles (82 km) long, it connects Parowan to Panguitch while providing access to Brian Head, Cedar Breaks National Monument, and Panguitch Lake. It is also the second-highest paved road in the state at 10,626 feet (3,239 m) above sea level.

The western section of the road from Parowan started as a logging road for nineteenth century Mormon pioneers and was designated a state highway in 1933. Twenty years later, the route was extended to Cedar Breaks National Monument, and again in 1985 to its present-day eastern end in Panguitch.

Route description

White cliffs and forest on the way up Parowan Canyon

State Route 143 begins at

semi trucks is not recommended.[4]

As the route climbs onto the

Cedar Breaks Scenic Byway).[1]

Cedar Breaks National Monument from the overlook on State Route 143

As the highway heads east, it descends through thick aspen forests interspersed with ancient

U.S. Route 89 in the city of Panguitch,[1] 25 miles (40 km) from Bryce Canyon National Park[9] and just east of the Paunsaugunt Plateau.[10][11]

History

Early roads

Panguitch Lake

Southern Paiute people[12] who used much of the Markagunt Plateau for hunting and gathering.[13]

The town of

Cedar Breaks. In 1919, S. A. Halterman took the first automobile to Cedar Breaks via Parowan Canyon. With improvements to the road completed by 1921, he was able to take visitors on weekly trips to the area.[14]

Parowan to Cedar Breaks

State Route 143 was first commissioned in 1933 as the road from

U.S. Route 91 (former State Route 1) in Parowan (Main Street) to the north boundary of Cedar Breaks National Monument,[2] increasing its length to over 17 miles (27 km).[3]

The construction of

SR-38) and extending SR-143 through north Parowan up to I-15, incorporating the northwestern part of the former SR-1 alignment.[2]

In 1975, the construction of I-15 was complete, including a second Parowan interchange that had not been in the original plans. This interchange was located west of Parowan, between the Summit interchange to the southwest, and the Parowan interchange to the north. In response, the legislature rerouted SR-143 to connect to the west interchange. Instead of turning north on Main Street, SR-143 now turned south on Main Street for two blocks (coinciding with SR-38) and turned west to reach the new interchange. The two blocks of Main Street overlapping SR-38 were transferred to SR-143, with the remainder of that route deleted and withdrawn from the state highway system. The former route of SR-143 northerly through Parowan was re-designated

SR-274.[2]

Cedar Breaks to Panguitch

Garfield County courthouse in Panguitch at the eastern end of the route

The other end of SR-143 has undergone route changes as well. Prior to 1969,

major realignment of state highways, SR-55 was deleted and its road was designated as part of SR-143. This left SR-143 as a non-contiguous highway, as the portion going through the national monument was not part of the highway designation.[2]

In 1985, the southern portion of SR-143 between SR-14 and the southern Cedar Breaks National Monument boundary was re-designated

US-89 in Panguitch was added to SR-143. In this same legislative resolution, there was a provision that the portion of the route alignments inside the boundaries of the national monument would be included as part of the state highway system once the Utah Department of Transportation was granted a right-of-way easement from federal authorities.[2] In 1994, the legislative description of SR-143 was updated to reflect that this easement had been granted. SR-148 still ends at the south boundary of the national monument.[15][16]

The route was designated as a

All-American Road.[18]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
I-15 BL – Cedar City, Beaver
Western terminus, also Exit 75 on I-15; western terminus of BL-15 overlap
2.6514.266
I-15 BL
(Main Street)		East end of BL-15 overlap
​10.08316.227Dry Lakes Road Scenic Backway
Cedar Breaks Scenic Byway
)
GarfieldPanguitch51.20682.408 US 89 (Center Street)Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^
    PDF). Utah Department of Transportation
    . December 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  2. ^
    PDF). Utah Department of Transportation
    . November 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c Google (July 20, 2009). "Utah State Route 143" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Scenic Byways and Backways". Cedar City/Brian Head Tourism Bureau. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
  5. ^ a b "Pioneer History and Scenery on Utah's Patchwork Parkway". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
  6. ^ a b "Brian Head-Panguitch Lake Scenic Byway". Utah Travel Industry. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
  7. ^ a b "Utah's Patchwork Parkway Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan, Chapter 10 - Scenic" (PDF). Scenic Byway 143 National Designation Steering Committee. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
  8. ^ Arave, Lynn (March 22, 2007). "Enjoy Utah's scenic heights from your car". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved July 15, 2009. UDOT agrees that state Route 143, the segment by Cedar Breaks National Monument, is the state's second-highest paved road. It reaches 10,626 feet above sea level.
  9. ^ "Panguitch Visitor Information". City of Panguitch, Utah. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  10. ISBN 978-0-12-088253-3
    .
  11. ISBN 978-0-471-33218-3
    .
  12. ^ a b "Utah's Patchwork Parkway Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan, Chapter 5 - Archeological" (PDF). Scenic Byway 143 National Designation Steering Committee. Retrieved July 26, 2009.
  13. ^ a b "Utah's Patchwork Parkway Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan, Chapter 7 - Historical" (PDF). Scenic Byway 143 National Designation Steering Committee. Retrieved July 26, 2009.
  14. ^ a b Hinton, Wayne K.; Powell, Allen Kent (1994). "Cedar Breaks National Monument". Utah History Encyclopedia. University of Utah: University Press. Retrieved July 26, 2009.
  15. PDF). Utah Department of Transportation
    . May 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  16. PDF). Utah Department of Transportation
    . November 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  17. ^ "Utah's Patchwork Parkway (U-143) - Official Designations". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  18. ^ "Scenic Byway 143". Iron County. Retrieved July 15, 2009.

External links

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