Interesting history of US 83 and its branch routes

[usends]

Until recently, I didn't have a complete understanding of all the reroutes and changes that have happened to US 83 and its offspring over the years.  So I reviewed a bunch of old maps and typed up a history.  Full article here, but following are a few highlights:

* Today US 83 is one of the longest north-south US routes, running between Canada and Mexico border crossings.  But initially it was just a short route running between the Dakotas.
* US 183 was originally commissioned to run along what is now US 83 from Vivian SD to Dresden KS.  However, the segment through the Nebraska Sand Hills was not completed until the 1950s, and by then US 183 had been rerouted.
* 400 miles of the original routing of US 83 (through all of Nebraska, plus much of South Dakota and Kansas) was later renumbered.
* Most of original US 83 became US 183.
* The remainder became US 383.
* The US 383 designation was really only necessary in Kansas.  But apparently Kansas convinced Nebraska to extend it into their state, presumably so that AASHO wouldn't balk about adding another intra-state US route.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Coincidentally I noticed the blog post earlier today. I like to give some historical context of the routes in the areas Big Rig Steve passes through, and I had already suspected that since US 183 was extended South from Northern Kansas before it was swapped with US 83 in Nebraska some strange routing must have existed elsewhere in the meantime. And the post confirmed what I had already suspected: a crazy knot of several US Routes existed for a couple years in Northern Kansas, with US 83 following what later became US 383 and is now KS 383, and US 183 concurrent with US 36. At least they realized that was quite confusing, and untangled them.

Fun fact: The section ahead has seen every route in the US 83 family, with US 183 being signed in the wrong way (i.e. "South" going due North and vice-versa). Currently only US 283 (which at one point ended at the linked intersection) remains.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

If Stew Magnuson didn't cover it. It didn't happen on US 83.
http://www.usroute83.com/home.html

[usends]

If Stew Magnuson didn't cover it. It didn't happen on US 83.
http://www.usroute83.com/home.html

I'm using one of his images as the header photo on my main US 83 page.