U.S. Route 30 in Wyoming

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 30 in Wyoming. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 30.

U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Astoria, Oregon, to Atlantic City, New Jersey. Within the U.S. state of Wyoming, it runs from Kemmerer to Pine Bluffs by way of Rock Springs, Laramie, and Cheyenne. The route runs mostly along the historic Lincoln Highway.^[2] It intersects and shares three concurrencies with I-80, of which it parallels, numerous times during its run.^[3]

U.S. Highway 30
US 30 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by WYDOT
Length	454.37 mi[1] (731.24 km)
Existed	1926[citation needed]–present
Major junctions
West end	US 30 at the Idaho state line near Kemmerer
Major intersections	US 189 in Kemmerer I-80 (numerous times) US 191 in Rock Springs US 287 from Rawlins to Laramie I-80 BL in Cheyenne I-25 / US 87 in Cheyenne I-180 / I-25 BL / US 85 in Cheyenne
East end	US 30 at the Nebraska state line in Pine Bluffs
Location
Country	United States
State	Wyoming
Counties	Lincoln, Sweetwater, Carbon, Albany, Laramie
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Wyoming State Highway System Interstate US State
← WYO 28 → WYO 30

Route description

US 30 enters Lincoln County, Wyoming from Bear Lake County, Idaho. Shortly after, it intersects Wyoming Highway 89, which runs northward to the Idaho state line, becoming Idaho State Highway 61, subsequently intersecting with U.S. Route 89. WYO 89 latches onto US 30 coming south. The road turns southeast, and the two routes begin a concurrency.

Cokeville is the first civilized town that the routes enter. Here, they meet Wyoming Highway 232, which continues into the town limits. Immediately after that junction, US 30 and WYO 89 leave the town and continue through dry, sandy plains with some farmland scattered on the sides. Through here, the road largely parallels the Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge as the two routes continue south.^[4] Eventually, WYO 89 leaves US 30 just west of Kemmerer as US 30 continues alone to the city itself.

Shortly before reaching the city limits, US 30 splits off to enter the city center while a bypass route bends south to avoid Kemmerer entirely. In the city, US 30 meets US 189. The latter route turns southeastward, and the two routes are concurrent through the city on Pine Avenue. Briefly after passing Onyx Street, the road becomes Coral Street, then Fossil Drive as US 30 and 189 turn nearly due south to enter Diamondville. The road turns entirely in a due west direction as US 30 and 189 leave the city a mile later at the intersection of Lincoln Street and Spring Valley Drive, and US 30 and 189 enter rural areas. The section of US 30 west of Kemmerer is planned to be rerouted to parallel the Union Pacific Railroad as part of a project to expand a nearby coal mine. Wyoming Department of Transportation has announced that this project would provide more jobs and economic benefits.^[5]

US 30 rejoins its bypass route splitting off from US 189, which continues further south towards Evanston. Continuing east, the road runs through dry farmland without any junctions for a few miles until the town of Opal, where it meets Wyoming Highway 240, though unlike Cokeville, it does not enter the town directly. After that junction, US 30 once again runs through rocky soil and grassy plains.

US 30 through the buttes of Green River

Entering Sweetwater County, the road intersects I-80 near Granger as it merges on to the interstate for the first time, and the two are duplexed for a very long distance (169 miles (272 km)). Through their concurrency, I-80/US 30 intersect Wyoming Highway 372 near James Town, business routes of I-80/US 30 in Green River, and share a brief concurrency with US 191 to Rock Springs, where US 191 splits off after entering the downtown area. After this, I-80/US 30 have no major intersections for nearly 60 miles (97 km).^[6]

I-80/US 30 enter Carbon County, where the next major intersection is in Rawlins. Here, US 287 joins the concurrency. The three routes are triplexed for 20 miles (32 km) as they pass by Sinclair to intersect the eastern terminus of Wyoming Highway 76. In Walcott, US 30 and US 287 split off from I-80. The two routes follow the length of the Medicine Bow Mountains as they run through Medicine Bow, and enter Albany County. They continue through Wilcox, Rock River, Lookout, and Bosler, before reaching Laramie, the next major city, and home to the University of Wyoming.^[7] Within Laramie, another business route of I-80 joins and becomes concurrent with US 30 and US 287 on 3rd Street. Once they reach Grand Avenue, I-80 BL/US 30 turn east on Grand Avenue while US 287 continues south on 3rd Street even further into downtown Laramie.

US 30/US 287 entering Albany County

US 30 rejoins I-80 east of Laramie, where the two routes pass by numerous mountain ranges. They also pass an exit for numerous campgrounds, as well as an Abraham Lincoln Memorial Monument. The monument was chosen as "Roadside America's Sight of the Week."^[8] They pass through Buford, along with several climbing areas and state parks dotting the sides of the route. There are several scenic sites to see along the road while driving in this part of the area.^[9] The road then enters Laramie County, the final county in the state that both I-80 and US 30 pass through. West of Cheyenne, the state capital, the routes pass by a large wind farm, and follow a gap of bumpy hills in the area.^[10] The first major interchange approaching Cheyenne is with Wyoming Highway 222. Both I-80 and US 30 enter Cheyenne, but not together. At the interchange with Wyoming Highway 225, one more business loop of I-80 breaks off, and so does US 30 along with the business route.

US 30 at its intersection with I-80 and I-80 BL outside of Cheyenne

As I-80 BL/US 30 enter the downtown area, they pass by numerous businesses, restaurants, and hotels lining the road. They intersect I-25 and US 87, the state's main north-south corridors. Continuing on East Lincolnway, the roads meet I-180, I-25 BL, and US 85. Although I-180 is considered as an interstate, it runs on surface roads, and thus is not conformed to interstate standards.^[11] Since these roads are on one-way streets, southbound traffic uses Central Avenue and northbound traffic uses Warren Avenue, and US 30 intersects both of these streets separately.^[12] After leaving Cheyenne, it merges back on I-80 for the third and final time. They travel through Hillsdale and parallel the Union Pacific Railroad's Sidney Subdivision line.^[13] Once the routes reach Pine Bluffs, US 30 splits off into the town, and both of the routes continue into Kimball County, Nebraska separate from each other.^[14]

History

I-80 BL/US 30 approaching a rail bridge in Cheyenne

US 30 was established in 1926 as a replacement for the former Lincoln Highway, a transcontinental route connecting San Francisco, California, to Times Square in New York City.^[15] It was named after the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln.^[16] In Wyoming, the Lincoln Highway ran through several areas US 30 currently does not run through, and many of the isolated communities US 30 formerly ran through were paths of the Lincoln Highway. The highway also ran through several more cities in Wyoming that both I-80 and US 30 were rerouted from, such as Green River, Rock Springs, and Laramie, and it mostly follows the path of the two highways' respective business routes. In addition, some of the old roads US 30 historically traveled on that it does not follow and runs concurrently with I-80 today, still run along the first generation of the Lincoln Highway. A portion of US 287, concurrent with US 30 from Rawlins to Laramie, was also part of the historic highway.^[15]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Lincoln	​	0.000	0.000		US 30 west – Pocatello	Continuation into Idaho
	​	0.229	0.369		WYO 89 north – Afton, Jackson	Western end of WYO 89 overlap
	Cokeville	10.644	17.130		WYO 231 / WYO 232 – Cokeville
	Sage	29.956	48.210		WYO 89 south – Evanston, Logan, Utah	Eastern end of WYO 89 overlap
	Kemmerer	52.332	84.220		US 30 Byp. east – Rock Springs
		54.438	87.609		US 189 north – Big Piney	Western end of US 189 overlap
		59.347	95.510		US 189 south / US 30 Byp. west – Port of Entry, Cokeville, Evanston	Eastern end of US 189 overlap
	Opal	72.645	116.911		WYO 240 – La Barge
Sweetwater	Granger Junction				WYO 374	WYO 374 unsigned along this segment; eastern terminus of unsigned segment
	Module:Jctint/USA warning: Unused argument(s): exit
	Little America	103.141	165.989	I-80 west – Evanston	Western end of I-80 overlap; I-80 exit 66
		106.018	170.619	68	WYO 374 east – Little America	Exit numbers follow I-80; western terminus of WYO 374
	​	109.374	176.020	72	Westvaco Road
	James Town	119.943	193.030	83	WYO 372 (La Barge Road) / WYO 374
		122.677	197.429	85	Covered Wagon Road
	Green River	126.586	203.720	89	I-80 BL east / US 30 Bus. east to WYO 530 – Green River
		128.444	206.711	91	I-80 BL west / US 30 Bus. west to WYO 530 – Green River
	Purple Sage			99	US 191 south (East Flaming Gorge Road)	Western end of US 191 overlap
	Rock Springs			101	Interchange Road	New diamond interchange opened in 2023
				102	I-80 BL (Dewar Drive) / US 30 Bus. east
				103	College Drive
				104	US 191 north (Elk Street)	Eastern end of US 191 overlap
				107	I-80 BL / US 30 Bus. (Pilot Butte Avenue) to WYO 430
	​			111	WYO 370 south (Airport Road) / Baxter Road – Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport
	​			122	WYO 371 north – Superior
	Point of Rocks			130	Point of Rocks	Former WYO 377
	​			136	Black Butte Road
	​			139	Red Hill Road
	​			142	Bitter Creek Road
	​			146	Patrick Draw Road
	Table Rock			150	Table Rock Road
				152	Bar X Road
				154	BLM Road	Closed in 2011
				156	GL Road
				158	Tipton Road
	​			165	Red Desert
	​			166	Booster Road	Closed in 2010[17]
	​			168	Frewen Road
	​			170	Rasmussen Road
	Wamsutter			173	Kelly Street – Wamsutter
	​			184	Continental Divide Road
	​			187	WYO 789 south – Creston Junction, Baggs	Western end of WYO 789 overlap
​			196	Riner Road
Carbon	​			201	Daley Road
	​			204	Knobs Road
	​			206	Hadsell Road
	​			209	Johnson Road
	Rawlins			211	I-80 BL / US 30 Bus. east / WYO 789 north to US 287 – Rawlins	Eastern end of WYO 789 overlap
				214	WYO 71 south (Higley Boulevard)
				215	I-80 BL / US 30 Bus. west / US 287 north to WYO 789 – Rawlins	Western end of US 287 overlap
	Sinclair			219	Lincoln Avenue – Sinclair
				221	WYO 76 west – Sinclair
	​			228	Fort Steele
	​				I-80 east / WYO 130 east / WYO 230 east – Walcott, Laramie, Saratoga	Eastern end of I-80 overlap; I-80 exit 235
	Hanna				WYO 72 – Hanna, Elk Mountain
	Medicine Bow				WYO 487 – Casper
Albany	Rock River				WYO 13 – McFadden, Arlington
	Bosler				WYO 34 – Wheatland
	Laramie				I-80 BL west (Curtis Street)	Western end of I-80 BL overlap
					WYO 130 west / WYO 230 west (Snowy Range Road)
					US 287 south (Third Street)	Eastern end of US 287 overlap
					I-80 west / I-80 BL ends – Rawlins	Eastern end of I-80 BL overlap; western end of I-80 overlap; I-80 exit 316
	Sherman Summit			323	WYO 210 east (Happy Jack Road)	Highest point on I-80
	​			329	Vedauwoo Road
	Buford			335	Buford Road – Buford
Laramie	​			339	Remount Road
	​			342	Harriman Road
	​			345	Warren Road
	​			348	WYO 225 east (Otto Road)	Former US 30 east
	​			357	WYO 222 (Roundtop Road)
	​				I-80 east / Otto Road (WYO 225 west) / I-80 BL begins – Cheyenne	Eastern end of I-80 overlap; no entrance to EB I-80; WYO 225 (Otto Road) is former US 30 west; western end of I-80 BL overlap; I-80 exit 358
	Cheyenne				I-25 / US 87 to I-80 east – Fort Collins, Wheatland, Casper	I-25 exit 9
					I-180 south / I-25 BL south / US 85 south (Central Avenue)	One-way couplet
					I-25 BL north / US 85 north (Warren Avenue)
					WYO 212 (N. College Drive) / I-80 BL to I-80	Eastern end of I-80 BL overlap
	​				I-80 west – Cheyenne	Western end of I-80 overlap; I-80 exit 370
	​			377	Hillsdale
	​			386	WYO 213 north / WYO 214 south – Burns, Carpenter
	​			391	Egbert
	Pine Bluffs				I-80 east – Sidney I-80 BL begins	Eastern end of I-80 overlap; western end of I-80 BL overlap; I-80 exit 401
					WYO 215 – Albin
Wyoming–Nebraska line		454.37	731.24		I-80 BL ends US 30 east	Eastern end of I-80 BL overlap; continuation into Nebraska
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Closed/former       Concurrency terminus

Related routes

See also: Special routes of U.S. Route 30

• U.S. Route 30 Bypass (Kemmerer, Wyoming)
• U.S. Route 30 Business (Green River, Wyoming)
• U.S. Route 30 Business (Rock Springs, Wyoming)
• U.S. Route 30 Business (Rawlins, Wyoming)
• U.S. Route 30S (Wyoming)

References

1. Planning Program – Transportation Statistics (November 2004). Reference Marker Book. Wyoming Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007.
2. Elk Grove Historical Society. "History: Lincoln Highway". Elk Grove Historical Society. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
3. "The Lincoln Highway in Wyoming". WyoHistory.org. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
4. "Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge". United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
5. "US 30 Relocation". Wyoming Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
6. "Wayback Machine" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
7. University of Wyoming. Interactive Campus Map of the University of Wyoming (Map). University of Wyoming. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
8. "The Lincoln Monument Was Chosen as Roadside America's Sight of the Week". Visit Laramie. May 19, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
9. Wyoming, Travel (March 27, 2019). "Road Tripping through Wyoming: 17 Sights to See off I-80". Travel Wyoming. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
10. "U.S. Route 30 in Wyoming" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
11. Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways as of December 31, 2021". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
12. "I-180 in Cheyenne, WY" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
13. Carter-Burgess (May 2005). Western Cheyenne Transportation Study (PDF). Cheyenne Metropolitan Planning Organization. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
14. "Overview Map of US 30 in Wyoming" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
15. Longfellow, Rickie (June 27, 2017). "The Lincoln Highway". Highway History. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
16. "Giant Head of Abraham Lincoln, Laramie, Wyoming". Roadside America. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
17. Maintenance Staff (February 11, 2013). Maintenance Section Reference Book (PDF). Wyoming Department of Transportation. p. 190. Retrieved March 6, 2019.

External links

Template:Attached KML/U.S. Route 30 in Wyoming

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