EXHIBITS
(In) The Road of Progress: The West Side and I-15: Utah’s Road Story
Utah’s Road Story
Where did Utah’s main roads come from?
Utah began paving its roads, in part, as a response to the Good Roads Movement. Between 1912 and 1916 the state paved a total of 36.5 miles, spread across multiple counties. [1] These early roads proved to be a learning experience for county commissioners, contractors, and city planners as they prepared for their future ambitions to construct a state highway system.[2] A few years later in 1919 and 1920, construction began on the state’s first all-paved north-south roadway system, highways 89 and 91.
Highway 91 and Highway 89
The road that is now known as Highway 91 started in the southwest corner of Utah. It had hard surfacing, and some sections prepared for pavement in 1919 [3]. Known as the Arrowhead Trail by automobile enthusiasts and boosters, this road stretched most of the length of the state towards Salt Lake City.[4]
Highway 89 utilized the earlier 1916 construction to complete a two-lane paved road and by 1921 ran all the way from Smithfield to Spanish Fork (with minor gaps).[5] This highway utilized pre-existing infrastructure, running the length of most main streets in each town it passed through.
Most construction on Utah’s oldest highways was finished by 1926. From 1916 until the 1956 Federal-aid Highway Act the placement of Utah’s highways did not change. [6]
Mud Roads in Salt Lake City
"Mud does not give back anything to anybody. There is nothing reciprocal about it. Mud knows neither friend or foe. In the natural organization of matter mud may have a place, but that place is not in the road."
-Spoken by a Good Roads reformer during a speech in front of the Iowa Bankers' Association in Countil Bluffs, Iowa (May 24, 1893) [7]
“The road over which I travel is good enough for me.”
– A farmer rejecting the Good Roads agenda [8]
The West Side, Good Roads, and the Growth of Industry
As the Good Roads Movement swept through Utah, Salt Lake City worked to improve its infrastructure. During these years, the west side enjoyed another wave of growth. Following the end of World War II, this section of the city experienced yet another construction boom, with hundreds of new homes built and still more under construction.
"Residents of [the west side communities] swear that they live in the finest residential section of the city. They are close to the downtown area. They have good streets with no winter-slick hills. There is very little smoke and a superb view of the mountains which encircle the Salt Lake valley."
– Salt Lake Telegram, November 4, 1948
The west side's economic activities coalesced around railroad, mining, and commercial ventures, making it the epicenter of Utah's industrial identity.[9] The industrial endeavors of this part of the city had indeed become a boon—not simply for the state or city, but for the people living there. Residents valued the nearness of their industrial workplaces to their homes. The industrial sector, too, valued the west side and continued expansion after World War II.[10]
As Utah's industry grew, so did the demand for something new—a super-highway for the transportation of goods and people to and from the city.
Endnotes:
[1] Ezra C. Knowlton, History of Highway Development in Utah (Utah: Utah State Department of Highways, 1964), 163.
[2] Knowlton, 163.
[3] Mori Kessler, “Old Highway 91 renamed ‘Old Dixie Highway 91’ by Washington County Commission,” St. George News, January 21, 2022, https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2022/01/21/mgk-old-highway-91-renamed-old-dixie-highway-91-by-washington-county-commission/.
[4] Knowlton, 198
[5] Knowlton, 201
[6] Knowlton, 216
[7] Quoted in Christopher W. Wells, Car Country: An Environmental History (Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press), 27.
[8] Chauncey B. Griffen, “Westchester County’s New Park System Will Be One of the Finest in the Country,” New York Times, April 6, 1924.
[9] Brad Westwood, “Pioneer Park Neighborhood: The Wellspring of Modern Salt Lake City,” Department of Cultural & Community Engagement, accessed June 1, 2023, https://community.utah.gov/pioneer-park-the-wellspring-of-modern-salt-lake-city/
[10] “West Side Coming Into Its Own,” Salt Lake Telegram, November 4, 1948.