Portal:U.S. roads/Selected article/July 2018

Interstate 80 (I-80) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey. The portion of the highway in the U.S. state of Utah is 196.35 mi, through the northern part of the state. From west to east, I-80 crosses the state line from Nevada in Tooele County and traverses the Bonneville Salt Flats—which are a part of the larger Great Salt Lake Desert. It continues alongside the Wendover Cut-off—the corridor of the former Victory Highway—U.S. Route 40 (US-40) and the Western Pacific Railroad Feather River Route. After passing the Oquirrh Mountains, I-80 enters the Salt Lake Valley and Salt Lake County. A short portion of the freeway is concurrent with I-15 through Downtown Salt Lake City. At the Spaghetti Bowl, I-80 turns east again into the mouth of Parley's Canyon and Summit County, travels through the mountain range and intersects the eastern end of I-84 near Echo Reservoir before turning northeast towards the Wyoming border near Evanston. I-80 was built along the corridor of the Lincoln Highway and the Mormon Trail through the Wasatch Range. The easternmost section also follows the historical routes of the First Transcontinental Railroad and US-30S. Construction of the controlled-access highway began in the 1950s, and by the late 1970s most of the freeway across the state of Utah had been completed. The 4+1/2 mi section of I-80 between Utah State Route 68 (SR-68, Redwood Road) and the Salt Lake City International Airport was the last piece of the nearly 2900 mi freeway to be completed. It was opened on August 22, 1986, and was about 50 mi from the site of another cross-country milestone in Utah, the driving of the Golden Spike of the First Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit.

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