U.S. Highway 30
Routing
From U.S. 101 in Astoria, Oregon, east to Atlantic Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey. U.S. 30 is the only true transcontinental U.S. route left, as all the others (6, 10, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80) have been retracted (mostly out of California) and U.S. 20 has its gap through Yellowstone National Park.
U.S. 30 follows State Control Route 12 from Idaho and Border Junction to Granger Junction, Interstate 80 from Granger Junction to Walcott Junction, State Control Route 410 from Walcott Junction to Medicine Bow, State Control Route 23 from Medicine Bow to Laramie, State Control Route 55 along Grand Avenue in Laramie, Interstate 80 from Laramie to Cheyenne, State Control Route 56 along Lincolnway in Cheyenne, Interstate 80 from Cheyenne to Pine Bluffs, and State Control Route 1111 through Pine Bluffs into Nebraska.
Major Cities
Astoria, Portland, The Dalles, Pendleton, Baker City, Boise, Twin Falls, Pocatello, Kemmerer, Rock Springs, Laramie, Cheyenne, Sidney, North Platte, Kearney, Grand Island, Fremont, Ames, Cedar Rapids, Aurora, Joliet, Chicago Heights, Plymouth, Fort Wayne, Van Wert, Mansfield, Canton, Pittsburgh, Bedford, York, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Camden, Atlantic City
Auxiliary Routes from U.S. 30
Business U.S. 30
U.S. 30 has plenty of business routes, almost all of them in conjunction with Interstate 80.
- In Kemmerer, Business U.S. 30 follows the original city route of U.S. 30 in that city. A bypass provides relief to through U.S. 30 traffic.
- In Green River, Business U.S. 30 is cosigned as Bus. I-80 and To Wyo. 530 along Flaming Gorge Way.
- In Rock Springs, Business U.S. 30 is cosigned as Bus. I-80 and To Wyo. 430 along Dewar Drive to the west and Pilot Butte Ave to the west.
- In Rawlins, it is cosigned as Bus. I-80 and Wyo. 789 along Spruce St. and as Bus. I-80 and U.S. 287 along Cedar Street.
- In Cheyenne, it is unusual, because there is no mainline U.S. 30. As you approach Cheyenne from the west, the signs say "Business I-80 and Business U.S. 30, Lincolnway." Exiting onto Lincolnway east, there are Business Loop 80 and Business 30 signs. However, on the mainline I-80, there are no U.S. 30 signs between the business loop exit and Wyo. 212 (College Ave.). Apparently, U.S. 30 exits the freeway at the Wyo. 212 (east Business Loop 80) interchange and then meets Bus. U.S. 30 at the College Ave. and Lincolnway intersection. U.S. 30 then runs east for about six miles on its own between this intersection and the town of Archer, where it is reabsorbed into the Interstate.
- In Pine Bluffs, the U.S. 30 business route is cosigned with Business Loop I-80 within the state of Wyoming until it reaches U.S. 30 in Nebraska. It seems the signage also has regular, non-business U.S. 30 shields in Pine Bluffs.
U.S. 30 used to have a split routes (30N/S) definition in southwestern Wyoming. The split occurred in Granger (near Little America) and continued west to Rupert, Idaho. U.S. 30S followed the present I-80 course southwest to Echo Canyon, then northwest via I-84 to Trementon and Park Valley. U.S. 30N followed the present U.S. 30 course northwest to Kemmerer, Soda Springs, and Pocatello; then it turned due west to American Falls and Rupert via I-86 and U.S. 30. The split route was decommissioned in the 1960s with the construction and completion of Interstate 80 in southwestern Wyoming. Historically, the only other Wyoming U.S. route ever to have such a split definition was U.S. 87.
State Auxiliary Routes. U.S. 30 has had as many as five state primary routes: Wyo. 130, 230, 330, 430, and 530. Most of these routes are still around, but Wyo. 330 was decommissioned in favor of Wyo. 789. Its number was reused in Sheridan County as a secondary state route (similar to the fate of Wyo. 316 and Wyo. 320).
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History
U.S. 30 is the original Lincoln Highway between Granger, Wyoming, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. West of Granger, the Lincoln Highway continues along Interstate 80 to San Francisco, California. In 1926, U.S. 30 and U.S. 30S followed the historic Lincoln Highway for its entire route through Wyoming. Click here for more on the Lincoln Highway.
There was much debate in the mid-1920s regarding the future routing of U.S. 30. Plans originally called for U.S. 20 to run from Astoria, Oregon, to Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, via the modern-day U.S. 30. This routing was in the 1926 Rand McNally Road Atlas. At that time, U.S. 30 was planned to end in Salt Lake City, Utah. However, Oregon and Idaho balked at the plan.
Prior to the final draft of the U.S.-numbered highway system, there were several fights that erupted over which state would get which numbers. Since numbers that end in zero, one, or five were considered to be the "major" or "through" routes, states competed for them in the mid-1920s. One famous example was U.S. 66, the Mother Road. In 1925 and 1926, U.S. 66 was first planned as U.S. 60, was later planned as U.S. 62, and was finally named U.S. 66 as a compromise among several states.
A similar fight erupted among the states of Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho. According to the Spring 1997 AASHTO Quarterly, the numbering of the route from Astoria, Oregon, to Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, was under intense debate. Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and Oregon could not agree on whether to call this route U.S. 20 or U.S. 30.
All of this discussion was ongoing when the 1926 Rand McNally atlas was being printed. The atlas shows U.S. 20 extending west from Yellowstone National Park to Astoria, Oregon. The route went from Yellowstone to Idaho Falls and Pocatello, where the route continued to Astoria via the general route of what is now U.S. 30. At that time, U.S. 30 had a truncated western terminus at its junction with U.S. 40 about 25 miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1926, what is now Interstate 84 was planned as U.S. 630, and it was planned to connect U.S. 30 at Echo with U.S. 91 in Ogden. What is now U.S. 30 in Idaho and Wyoming was planned as U.S. 530 in the 1926 atlas. U.S. 530, at that time, connected U.S. 30 at Granger, Wyoming, with U.S. 91 near Pocatello, Idaho. (This changed by 1927, with U.S. 530 connecting U.S. 30S and U.S. 40 between Echo and near Park City and U.S. 630 connecting U.S. 30 and U.S. 95 through the Weiser area in Oregon and Idaho. Both U.S. 530 and 630 are decommissioned today.)
Idaho and Oregon objected to the transcontinental U.S. 20 designation because the route passed through Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone presented several problems to the states: Yellowstone required an admittance fee of $7.50, the route via the Grand Loop Road and Norris Road was closed in winter, and the route was not the most direct route to the east.
Both states maintained that by extending U.S. 30 from Granger, Wyoming, to Astoria, Oregon, via Boise and Portland, Oregon and Idaho would get a free, all weather two digit multiple of 10. Utah objected to losing U.S. 30, even though it had U.S. 40 and U.S. 50. The route numbering committee compromised and split U.S. 30 into north and south branches between Granger, Wyoming, and Burley, Idaho, with U.S. 30N passing thru Pocatello, Idaho, and U.S. 30S passing through Ogden, Utah.
It is unclear if U.S. 20 was ever really posted to Astoria, Oregon. Were the U.S. route markers first posted in 1926, as the Rand McNally atlas implies, or were they actually first posted in early 1927? AASHO did not adopt the U.S. numbered highway system until November 11, 1926. I suspect that the 1926 Rand McNally atlas may have used a draft of the U.S. numbering plan, not the final approved version.
With the November 1926 plan, the western terminus of U.S. 20 was set at the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The AASHTO article states that U.S. 20 was extended west from the western entrance of the Park to Albany, OR in 1942. Notably, U.S. 20 was designated through the park, so it is considered a split route, like U.S. 2. The Albany to Newport extension took place in the 1950s.
As for U.S. 20 in Idaho, the route changed more that once between 1942 and the late 1960s. Originally, the route headed from the Park to Idaho Falls, along U.S. 91 to Blackfoot, northwest to Arco, to Carey, Shoshone, Bliss, Mountain Home, Boise, Caldwell, Parma, and on to Nyssa, Oregon. By the mid-1950s, a short cut heading straight west from Idaho Falls toward Arco had been completed.
U.S. 26 had been extended west from Wyoming via Idaho to Oregon by this time (commissioned in 1950), with much of U.S. 20 and U.S. 26 sharing the same route thru Idaho. Also, by the 1950s, the portion of U.S. 20 from Carey via Shoshone and Bliss to Mountain Home had been re-labeled as Temp U.S. 20. It wasn't until the 1970s, however, that U.S. 20 was routed more directly west from Carey via Fairfield to Mountain Home.
So, in 1926, there was no split route definition planned for U.S. 30 in Southwestern Wyoming. Instead, plans called for a U.S. 530 to connect U.S. 30 at Granger, Wyoming, with US 91 near Pocatello, Idaho, (via what is now U.S. 30) and for a U.S. 630 to connect U.S. 30 at Echo, Utah, with Ogden, Utah, (via what is now Interstate 84). At that time, U.S. 30 was planned to end at U.S. 40 near Park City, Utah. Ironically, this is where U.S. 40 now ends at Interstate 80. Even so, U.S. 30 ultimately was split N-S, and U.S. 530 and 630 were moved to other definitions. It is unclear if U.S. 530 and 630 signs were ever erected in Wyoming -- they were merely a gleam in AASHTO's (then AASHO) eye.
U.S. 530 and U.S. 630 were later commissioned in Utah and Idaho, respectively. U.S. 530 was about 25 miles long, provided the connection between U.S. 30S near Echo Junction (I-80/84) to U.S. 40 near Silver Creek Junction (I-80/U.S. 40). It was replaced by U.S. 189 and later by I-80. U.S. 630, on the other hand, was even more interesting, as it was the all-time shortest U.S. highway. According to more than one early 1930s map, U.S. 630 was the road over the Snake River near Weiser, Idaho, that connected U.S. 30N in Oregon with U.S. 95 in Weiser. That would be a grand total of two to three miles at most. This would seem to be a misprint, but it was shown by more than one map company for at least two or three years. Today, U.S. 630 is known as U.S. 95 Spur and connects Oregon 201 with U.S. 95.
U.S. 30 was officially designated in 1926 as a transcontinental highway -- running from Astoria, Oregon, east to Atlantic City, New Jersey. This highway is over seventy years old, and it has not been decommissioned or cut back at all, unlike many other cross-country U.S. routes. However, U.S. 30 is combined with I-84 and I-80 for significant portions in Oregon, Idaho, and Wyoming.
Today, U.S. 30 is one of the longest U.S. routes, alongside U.S. 20, U.S. 6 (U.S. 6 was the longest before most of its California segment was decommissioned), and U.S. 50. However, much of its western route has been absorbed by the Interstate Highway System. Through most of Oregon and Idaho, Interstate 84 has replaced U.S. 30. Surprisingly, both states have old sections of the original route designated as U.S. 30.
Between 1926 and 1972, U.S. 30 had a split route in southwestern Wyoming that allowed U.S. 30 to serve both northern Utah and southern Idaho as it left the Snake River basin on its way to the Red Desert of Wyoming. U.S. 30S began in Rupert, Idaho, and traveled southeast to the Utah towns of Tremonton, Ogden, and Echo (via today's Interstate 84). At Echo, U.S. 30S met old U.S. 530 (a short connector between U.S. 30S and U.S. 40 that is now overlaid by Interstate 80), and then U.S. 30S turned northeast to enter Wyoming at Evanston. U.S. 30S then continued through the Three Sisters area and Bridger Valley (Lyman, Mountain View, and Fort Bridger) to merge with U.S. 30N near Granger.
U.S. 30N, on the other hand, kept well to the north of U.S. 30S. This route followed modern-day Interstate 86 east from Rupert to American Falls and Pocatello, then it turned southeast toward Kemmerer and Granger. Today, U.S. 30N is known as the mainline U.S. 30.
For the next 30 years, U.S. 30 would remain unchanged in Wyoming, with the exception of the co-signed portions with U.S. 189 and U.S. 287 being added in the 1930s. The highway was the main route for traffic between San Francisco and Chicago, and it had considerable increases in usage over the years.
In 1956, the Interstate Highway System Act was passed, leading to a new era of decreased importance for U.S. 30. The 1947 plan of Interstate Highways presented U.S. 30S and U.S. 30 as becoming part of a transcontinental interstate (today's Interstate 80) between San Francisco and New York. Wyoming and Idaho officials tried to get U.S. 30N admitted into the Interstate Highway System in 1957, but it was rejected.
As a sidenote, it would not be surprising if officials are still trying to get U.S. 30 between McCammon Junction, Idaho, and Granger, Wyoming, included in the Interstate Highway System. The recently redesigned Interstate 80/U.S. 30 interchange at Granger allows for newly widened, dual-carriageway U.S. 30 to provide a full-access link with Interstate 80. This could easily be an interstate-to-interstate connection. However, U.S. 30 is neither interstate- nor expressway-grade at any point between McCammon Junction and Granger. Parts of it are designed as a "Super Two," a two-lane, access-controlled highway.
As Interstate 80 was being constructed, U.S. 30 was slowly being moved to the new freeway. All along the Red Desert section of U.S. 30 (between Point of Rocks and Rawlins), you can see abandoned roads and frontage (service) roads that used to be U.S. 30. By the mid-1970s, all of Interstate 80 in Wyoming had been completed. U.S. 30S was decommissioned and replaced by Interstate 84, Interstate 15, and Interstate 80, while U.S. 30N became the new U.S. 30.
The Wyoming Highway Department and other planning officials decided to run Interstate 80 closer to the Snowy Range in southeastern Wyoming between Walcott Junction and Laramie. This resulted in the preservation of the old U.S. 30-287 alignment and numerous weather-related headaches due to the high wind and blowing snow common to Interstate 80 along its new route. So U.S. 30 still has some of its route in commission, but over 60% of it was absorbed by the interstate.
U.S. 30 Photo Gallery
 EAST
U.S. 30 East, Idaho State Line to Interstate 80 Exit 66
| No photos currently available.
| Interstate 80 and U.S. 30 East
| For photos, see Eastbound Interstate 80 Wyoming in Carbon County.
| U.S. 30 East and U.S. 287 South, Walcott Junction to Laramie
| North of the Interstate 80 junction at Walcott, U.S. 30 east and U.S. 287 south follow the original route of the Lincoln Highway toward Hanna, Medicine Bow, Rock River, and Bosler before rejoining Interstate 80 at Laramie. The Lincoln Highway followed a variety of alignments before adopting the current route of U.S. 30-287; Interstate 80 between Laramie and Walcott never was part of the official Lincoln Highway corridor across the country. Photo taken 09/06/05.
| Business Loop I-80 and U.S. 30 East (Laramie)
| For photos, see Business Loop Interstate 80 in Laramie.
| Interstate 80 and U.S. 30 East
| For photos, see Eastbound Interstate 80 Wyoming in Albany County and Eastbound Interstate 80 Wyoming in Laramie County.
| Business Loop I-80 and U.S. 30 East (Cheyenne)
| For photos, see Business Loop Interstate 80 in Cheyenne.
| U.S. 30 East (Archer)
| U.S. 30 continues east of Wyoming 212 (College Drive) as an extant route, following Lincolnway to Archer, where the federal route will reconnect with Interstate 80. The stretch of U.S. 30 between Wyoming 212 and Interstate 80 is not cosigned with Business Loop I-80, despite some maps that misrepresent this. Photo taken 09/05/05.
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| Eastbound U.S. 30 approaches Pershing Boulevard, a major east-west street that crosses the city of Cheyenne between Interstate 25 Exit 11 (near the Randall Avenue/F.E. Warren interchange) and passes the UMC and VA hospitals en route to this traffic signal. Pershing Boulevard is the first generation alignment of the Lincoln Highway; U.S. 30 is the second and newer generation of that historic road. Photo taken 09/05/05.
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| After the Pershing Boulevard intersection, U.S. 30 widens out to four lanes with a median barrier. In some maps that date to the early 1960s, there may have been plans for Interstate 80 to follow Lincolnway from here east to Archer. However, the freeway was ultimately routed to the south on a new alignment, and U.S. 30 was left to remain on its original route. The divided highway remains as evidence of this earlier plan for Interstate 80. Photo taken 09/05/05.
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| The divided highway lasts for nearly a mile, but it comes to an end as Lincolnway (U.S. 30) approaches Hayes Avenue. Photo taken 09/05/05.
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| Now a two-lane highway, Lincolnway (U.S. 30) approaches Whitney Road. Photo taken 09/05/05.
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| This mileage sign provides the distance to Pine Bluffs (at the state line between Wyoming and Nebraska) and Omaha, some 495 miles distant from here via U.S. 30 and Interstate 80. Photo taken 09/05/05.
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| As Lincolnway continues to travel in a northwesterly direction, it intersects another major east-west roadway: Dell Range Boulevard. Dell Range extends west from here to a major commercial corridor, where many "big box" stores and the local mall can be found. Dell Range skirts the north edge of Cheyenne Airport before ending at Wyoming 219 (Yellowstone Road, which is former U.S. 85-87 and before 1936, Wyoming 219 was U.S. 185). Photo taken 09/05/05.
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| A few miles further east, U.S. 30/Lincolnway approaches its junction with Interstate 80. Use Interstate 80 west to return to Cheyenne; follow Interstate 80 east to continue east on signed U.S. 30. A service road on the north side of the freeway will continue as the old alignment of U.S. 30 Photo taken 09/05/05.
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| After crossing the Union Pacific Railroad viaduct, U.S. 30 approaches the connection to Interstate 80. Rather than intersect the freeway directly, motorists must turn right (south) onto the connector road to join Interstate 80. The service road continues straight ahead. Photo taken 09/05/05.
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| Eastbound U.S. 30 turns right onto the connector road. The third generation of Lincoln Highway follows the service road, while the original alignment of the Lincoln Highway veers away from Interstate 80, following the Union Pacific Railroad northeast toward Burns and Egbert before rejoining Interstate 80 and U.S. 30 at Pine Bluffs. While sections are paved, substantial sections of this original Lincoln Highway alignment are not paved. Photo taken 09/05/05.
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| The connector road between the Lincoln Highway and Interstate 80 intersects at a diamond interchange. U.S. 30 merges onto Interstate 80 east. Photo taken 09/05/05.
| Interstate 80 and U.S. 30 East, Archer to Nebraska State Line
| For photos, see Eastbound Interstate 80 Wyoming in Laramie County.
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WEST
Interstate 80 and U.S. 30 West, Nebraska State Line to Archer
| For photos, see Westbound Interstate 80 Wyoming in Laramie County.
| U.S. 30 West, Archer to Cheyenne
| No photos currently available.
| Business Loop I-80 and U.S. 30 West, Cheyenne
| For photos, see Business Loop Interstate 80 in Cheyenne.
| Interstate 80 and U.S. 30 West, Cheyenne to Laramie
| For photos, see Westbound Interstate 80 Wyoming in Laramie County and Westbound Interstate 80 Wyoming in Albany County.
| Business Loop I-80 and U.S. 30 West, Laramie
| For photos, see Business Loop Interstate 80 in Laramie.
| U.S. 30 West and U.S. 287 North, Laramie to Walcott Junction
| Westbound U.S. 30 and northbound U.S. 287 meets Interstate 80 and Wyoming 130 at Walcott Junction. Follow Interstate 80 east to Elk Mountain, Arlington, and Laramie; follow Interstate 80 west to continue along U.S. 30-287 west to Rawlins. Straight ahead, Wyoming 130 travels south toward Saratoga and a connection to Wyoming 230 and Colorado 125. Photo taken 09/06/05.
| Interstate 80 and U.S. 30 West, Walcott Junction to Granger (Exit 66)
| For photos, see Westbound Interstate 80 Wyoming in Carbon County, Westbound Interstate 80 Wyoming in Sweetwater County (#1), and Westbound Interstate 80 Wyoming in Sweetwater County (#2).
| U.S. 30 West, Granger to Idaho State Line
| No photos currently available.
| Other Scenes Pertaining to U.S. 30
| Between Rock River and Bosler, U.S. 30-287 becomes a freeway, with access control for a 17-mile stretch between these two towns. There are no interchanges along this portion of highway. This freeway was constructed with the intent that it would become part of Interstate 80, but that idea was abandoned once the new stretch was built closer to Arlington and Elk Mountain. Along this stretch, signs such as this one are posted along the right-of-way to indicate the fact that this is an access-controlled facility. Photo taken by Mike Ballard, 08/98.
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Page Updated September 23, 2005.
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