U.S. Route 491

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U.S. Route 491

Devil's Highway

Length:

194 mi^[1] (312 km)

Formed:

2003 (1926 as US 666)^[1]

South end:

I-40 in Gallup, NM

Major
junctions:

US 64 in Shiprock, NM

US 160 in Cortez, CO

North end:

US 191 in Monticello, UT

United States Numbered Highways
Spur of US 91
List - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

U.S. Route 491 is a north-south United States highway. One of the newest additions to the U.S. Highway system, it was commissioned in 2003 as a renumbering of U.S. Route 666. With the 666 designation, this route was given the nickname "The Devil's Highway" because of the common Christian belief that 666 is the Number of the Beast.^[2] The highway serves the Four Corners region of the United States.

1 Route description
2 History
3 Media and pop culture
- 3.1 Factual depictions
- 3.2 Fictional depictions
4 See also
- 4.1 Related routes
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Route description

Although the highway formerly entered all of the Four Corners states, it does not come near the Four Corners Monument, which is accessed via U.S. Route 160. At several points along the route mountain ranges in all of the Four Corners states are visible from a single location. While the alignment of the highway is mostly North-South, the Utah portion is signed East-West.

[edit] New Mexico

U.S. Route 491 begins at Gallup, New Mexico^[3] and passes North through the eastern half of the Navajo Nation.^[4] Along the way it passes many small communities, trading posts, and schools. The largest city served by US 491 in the Navajo Nation is Shiprock which takes its name from an unusual rock formation near the town.

[edit] Colorado

The New Mexico - Colorado state line is also where the highway passes from the Navajo Nation to Ute Mountain Ute tribal lands. In Colorado the highway proceeds diagonally to the Northwest in the extreme southwestern corner of Colorado.^[5] The highway exits tribal lands near Cortez and Mesa Verde National Park. After leaving Cortez the highway gradually gains elevation until reaching 7000 ft (2000 m). As the highway climbs in altitude the highway passes through large Pinto bean farming regions. The highway serves Dove Creek which bills itself as the Pinto Bean Capital of the World.^[6]. A portion of the highway in Colorado has been designated the Trail of the Ancients National Scenic Byway.^[7]

[edit] Utah

Old and new route number at the intersection with 191 in Monticello, UT

In Utah the highway travels due west to the farming town of Monticello, Utah at the base of the Abajo Mountains (Blue Mountains), where the highway terminates at the corner of Main and Central. In 1985, the Utah Department of Transportation petitioned to extend then US 666 to Richfield, Utah by upgrading Utah State Route 95 and a portion of Utah State Route 24 to U.S. highway status, however the petition was rejected.^[8]. The Utah section of U.S. 491 is defined at Utah Code Annotated § 72-4-137(11)

[edit] History

[edit] U.S. Route 666

U.S. 491 was originally commissioned as U.S. 666

The route was first commissioned in 1926 as US 666. The number was appropriate per AASHTO's guidelines as the 6th spur along the highway's parent U.S. Route 66, branching off at Gallup, New Mexico.^[2] At that time its northern terminus was in Cortez, Colorado at an intersection with then U.S. Route 450 (modern U.S. Route 160). ^[3]

[edit] Extensions into Arizona and Utah

In 1938, its southern terminus was extended to Douglas, Arizona at the Mexican border. It was co-signed with U.S. Route 66 for 30 miles (48.3 km) before its turn south.^[3] The Arizona portion of the highway is known as the Coronado Trail Scenic Byway as it approximated the path of the Spanish explorer, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado.^[9]

In 1970, several U.S. highways in the Four Corners region were re-aligned. As part of this change, U.S. Route 160 was rerouted west of Cortez to serve the Four Corners Monument and enter Arizona instead of Utah. U.S. Route 666 was extended up part of the old route of U.S. 160 to Monticello, Utah, at an intersection with then U.S. Route 163 (now U.S. Route 191).^[3]

[edit] The Devil's Highway

The route was given the nickname "The Devil's Highway". This nickname and association made some people uncomfortable,^[10] as well as making the signs targets for theft. Because of the highway's number, accidents and other phenomena became repeated as legend. These legends convinced some people the highway was cursed.^[11] One unnamed highway patrol officer was quoted in USA Today as stating that a drunk-driving suspect told him that, "Triple 6 is evil. Everyone dies on that highway".^[2] Skeptics point out that the highway has a lower than average fatality rate in Utah and Colorado. Only the New Mexico portion is statistically a dangerous highway.^[12] Skeptics also point that the high fatality rate in New Mexico can be explained by an inadequate design for current traffic loads.

[edit] Elimination and renumbering of U.S. 666

In 1985, the U.S. Route 66 designation was eliminated, leaving U.S. 666 (and others) as orphans. In 1993, the part in Arizona was renumbered as an extension of U.S. Route 191. Officials in Arizona requested this change in part because the US 666 signs were among the most frequently stolen in the state. This truncated U.S. Route 666 again at Gallup, New Mexico, now at Interstate 40.

The route in the other 3 states became U.S. Route 491 in 2003, mainly through efforts of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. He requested the change due to the "infamy brought by the inopportune naming of the road".^[2] Colorado officials agreed to the change, again citing high rates of sign theft.^[13] Within days of the announcement that U.S. 666 would be renumbered, virtually every sign on the highway had been stolen, some for sale on eBay.^[14] Officials in Utah reported that 5 entire sign assemblies had been cut at the base with a chainsaw and stolen, while New Mexico officials reported that even signs welded to metal posts (to prevent thefts) had been stolen.^[15]

In New Mexico's motion to renumber the highway they selected U.S. Route 393. Since the route came nowhere near U.S. Route 93, AASHTO instead suggested U.S. Route 491, noting it as a branch of U.S. Route 191 at Monticello, Utah. Although the next 3-digit "child" of U.S. Route 91 would have been U.S. Route 291, both the 291 and 391 designations were already in use as state route numbers in at least one of the affected states.^[2] U.S. Route 666 officially ceased to exist on May 31, 2003, though "New 491 - Old 666" signs were posted after the change.

The dedication of the "new" highway was postponed until July to coincide with the start of construction projects to improve safety on the highway.^[11] At the dedication, a Navajo medicine man performed a ceremony to remove the curse from the highway.^[16] However, even some people who believed in the 666 curse disagreed with the change. Multiple newspapers and television stations interviewed people along the route about their opinion on the changing of the highway's number. One went on record as stating highway officials "are messing with the wrong guy. They're making the devil mad. They should have left the 666 alone."^[16] Others were more sarcastic. One Monticello resident stated, "We'll really miss all the potheads stopping and taking pictures of the Route 666 sign."^[16] Most residents interviewed commented that no matter the number they would still call the road the Devil's Highway.^[16]

[edit] Media and pop culture

[edit] Factual depictions

The curse of Route 666 is discussed in the book "Copper Crucible" by Jonathan D. Rosenblum. The book is about the Arizona Copper Mine Strike of 1983 which occurred at a copper mine along the highway near Morenci, Arizona. ^[17]

[edit] Fictional depictions

The highway was used as a plot element in the movies Route 666 and Natural Born Killers. Neither movie used the highway corridor as a filming location.