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U.S. Route 89 in Montana

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This article is about the section of highway in Montana. For the entire length of highway, see U.S. Route 89.
U.S. Highway 89 marker
U.S. Highway 89
Map
US 89 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDT
Length400.511 mi[1] (644.560 km)
Existed1934–present
Major junctions
South endYellowstone National Park at Gardiner
Major intersections
North end Highway 2 at the Canadian border at Port of Piegan
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMontana
CountiesPark, Meagher, Cascade, Teton, Pondera, Glacier
Highway system
← MT 87→ I-90

U.S. Highway 89 (US 89) is a north-south United States Numbered Highway in the state of Montana. It extends approximately 400.5 miles (644.5 km) from Yellowstone National Park north to the Canadian border. US 89 is an important tourist route within Montana as it connects Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park. The section of US 89 located between US 12 and US 87 is known as the Kings Hill Scenic Byway, which passes through the Little Belt Mountains in the Lewis and Clark National Forest,[2] and is home to a wide variety of wildlife and provides many recreational opportunities for travelers along the route.

Route description

[edit]
Roosevelt Arch looking towards the southern terminus of US 89 in Montana
US 89 in St. Mary
US 89 crossed the Carbella Bridge near Gardiner, destroyed in 2022

US 89 enters Montana at the North Entrance of Yellowstone National Park, on the southern edge of Gardiner at the Roosevelt Arch; it is one of two entrances opened year-round (the other being the Northeast entrance on US 212). Some commercially produced maps show US 89 going through Yellowstone National Park; however, it officially has a gap inside the park and resumes in Wyoming at the South Entrance. US 89 travels north along the Yellowstone River for 52.9 miles (85.1 km) to Livingston, where it heads east along a 7.5-mile (12.1 km) concurrency with I-90/US 191. US 89 heads north for 56.7 miles (91.2 km); the route joins US 12 (which heads east towards Helena) for 8.4 miles (13.5 km) before entering White Sulphur Springs, and for another 3.0 miles (4.8 km) east of town, where it turns north and becomes the Kings Hill Scenic Byway.[3] From US 12 the byway travels for 71.4 miles (114.9 km) through the Lewis and Clark National Forest, through the communities of Neihart and Monarch, and on to its junction with US 87. The route offers access to the Showdown Ski Area and Sluice Boxes State Park. The route travels over the Kings Hill Pass which snow removal crews work to keep open throughout the winter season.[2]

At the northern end of the byway near Armington, US 89 joints US 87, Montana Highway 3 (MT 3), and MT 200; the four-route concurrency travels northwest for 22.7 miles (36.5 km) to Great Falls. As it travels through Great Falls along 10th Avenue South, US 87 branches north at 14th Street South, I-15 Business joins the route at 6th Street South, and it follows a short, unsigned concurrency with I-315 before reaching I-15. US 89 and MT 200 follow I-15 for 11.5 miles (18.5 km) to Vaughn, where they exit the Interstate and travels 7.9 miles (12.7 km) west to Sun River, at which point US 89 turns northwest and MT 200 heads southwest to Missoula. US 89 travels 32.4 miles (52.1 km) to US 287 in Choteau and another 68.8 miles (110.7 km) to US 2.[3]

US 2 and US 89 share a 3.8-mile (6.1 km) concurrency through Browning and at a roundabout on the western end of town, US 2 heads southwest towards East Glacier and provides an all-weather link to the western end of Glacier National Park. US 89 heads west for 12.2 miles (19.6 km) and then turns north at Kiowa and travels north for 18.9 miles (30.4 km) to St. Mary where it intersects the Going-to-the-Sun Road, a seasonal scenic mountain road that traverses Glacier National Park. US 89 travels 12.9 miles (20.8 km) to the Chief Mountain Highway (MT 17), a road that travels through the northeastern corner of Glacier National Park and provides seasonal access to Canada's Waterton Lakes National Park by way of the Chief Mountain Border Station and Quarters (the only road that connects Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park). US 89 travels 6.2 miles (10.0 km) to its northern terminus at the Canadian border at Port of Piegan where the road continues into Alberta as Highway 2 towards Cardston.[3]

History

[edit]

When US 89 was first created, it ran as far north as Spanish Fork, Utah. This was the case until 1934, when it was extended to more or less of its current alignment up to the Port of Piegan.[4] North of Great Falls, US 89's route was originally part of the US 87 corridor until 1934. US 87 ended in Great Falls until 1945, when it was extended to its current northern terminus near Havre.[5]

Major intersections

[edit]
CountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
ParkYellowstone National Park−3.1−5.0North Entrance Road – MammothContinuation into Wyoming; US 89 resumes at Yellowstone National Park's South Entrance
Gardiner0.0000.000Yellowstone National Park North EntranceSouthern end of state maintenance
​19.68331.677
 S-540 north (East River Road)
Emigrant30.91949.759
 S-571 east
​49.68079.952
 S-540 south (East River Road)
Livingston52.91785.162333

 I-90 west / US 191 south – Butte		Southern end of I-90 / US 191 concurrency; exit numbers follow I-90
57.86593.125337
 I-90 BL west – Livingston
​60.39597.196340

 I-90 east / US 191 north – Billings		Northern end of I-90 / US 191 concurrency
Wilsall84.515136.014
 MT 86 south (Flathead Creek Road)
Meagher​109.217175.768
 S-294 east – Lennep, Martinsdale
117.100188.454
 US 12 west – Townsend, Helena		Southern end of US 12 concurrency
White Sulphur Springs125.956202.707
 S-360 west – Fort Logan
​128.899207.443
 US 12 east – Harlowton		Northern end of US 12 concurrency; southern end of Kings Hill Scenic Byway
136.650219.917
 S-259 south
Meagher–Cascade
county line		​157.478253.436Kings Hill Pass
Cascade​182.257293.314
 S-427 north – Raynesford
Armington Junction200.258322.284


 US 87 south / MT 3 south / MT 200 east – Lewistown		Southern end of US 87 / MT 3 / MT 200 concurrency; northern end of Kings Hill Scenic Byway
​203.861328.082
 S-331 north – Belt
216.717348.772

 S-227 north / S-228 south – Sand Coulee, Highwood
Great Falls219.736353.631

 US 87 Byp. north (57th Street S) – Malmstrom AFB
222.836–
222.916		358.620–
358.749
 US 87 north (14th Street S / 15th Street S) – Black Eagle, Havre		One-way pair; northern end of US 87 concurrency
223.569–
223.654		359.799–
359.936
 I-15 BL north (5th Street S / 6th Street S)		One-way pair; southern end of I-15 Bus. concurrency
225.082362.234I-315 begins / Fox Farm Road, 6th Street SWEastern terminus of unsigned I-315; southern end of I-315 concurrency
221.435356.365014th Street SWExit number follows I-315
225.910363.567—
278
 I-15 south – Helena


 I-315 ends / I-15 BL ends / MT 3 ends		Northern end of I-15 Bus. / MT 3 concurrency; southern end of I-15 concurrency; western termini of unsigned I-315 / I-15 BL / MT 3; exit numbers follow I-15
227.499366.124280


 I-15 BL south (Central Avenue W) to US 87 north
​229.478369.309282

 To US 87 north / Northwest Bypass		Southbound exit, northbound entrance
233.356375.550286Manchester
Vaughn237.454382.145290
 I-15 north – Shelby		Northern end of I-15 concurrency
Sun River245.429394.980
 MT 200 west – Missoula		Northern end of MT 200 concurrency
Teton​256.757413.210

 S-431 north / S-565 south – Simms
Fairfield260.096418.584
 S-408 west
Choteau277.723446.952
 US 287 south (W Division Street) – Helena		Northern terminus of US 287
277.794447.066
 S-221 east (1st Street NE) – Dutton
​299.011481.212
 S-219 east – Pendroy, Conrad
PonderaDupuyer311.608501.484
 S-534 east – Conrad
​320.566515.901
 MT 44 east – Valier, Lake Frances
Glacier​346.489557.620
 US 2 east – Shelby		Southern end of US 2 concurrency
Browning349.755562.876
 S-464 north (East Boundary Street)
350.330563.801
 US 2 west – East Glacier		Northern end of US 2 concurrency; access to Glacier National Park
Kiowa362.524583.426
 MT 49 south (Looking Glass Hill Road) – East Glacier		MT 49 closed in winter
St. Mary381.469613.915Going-to-the-Sun Road – Glacier National ParkGoing-to-the-Sun Road closed in winter
Babb388.754625.639
 S-464 south – Duck Lake
​394.341634.630
 MT 17 north (Chief Mountain Highway) – Waterton Lakes		Chief Mountain Border Crossing open seasonally
Piegan Border Crossing400.511644.560Canada–United States border
Highway 2 north – CardstonContinuation into Alberta
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Road Inventory and Mapping Section (2013). Montana Road Log (PDF). Helena: Montana Department of Transportation. pp. 6–7, 15, 23, 36–37, 46, 66–68, 100–102, 189–192. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Kings Hill Scenic Byway". Archived from the original on August 23, 2006. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Montana Department of Transportation (2016). Montana Official Highway Map (Map). 1:633,600. Helena: Montana Department of Transportation. §§ A3, B3, B4, C4, D4, D5, D6, E6, F6, G6, H6, I6.
  4. ^ Sanderson, Dale (August 18, 2019). "End of US Highway 89". US Ends.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020.[self-published source]
  5. ^ Sanderson, Dale (April 13, 2020). "End of US Highway 87". US Ends.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020.[self-published source]
[edit]
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U.S. Route 89
Previous state:
Wyoming 		Montana Next state:
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