Utah State Route 122
Encyclopedia
State Route 122 is a state highway
in the U.S. state
of Utah
, connecting the ghost town
of Hiawatha with SR-10.
, opposite the coal mine and ghost town
of Hiawatha in the Manti-La Sal National Forest
. It heads east in generally straight lines, gradually descending a ridge from the foothills of Gentry Mountain into the Castle Valley. About two-thirds of the way to the end at SR-10, SR-122 meets a county road from Wattis, another former mining town.
company town
of Hiawatha with SR-10 was added to the state highway system in 1931, initially numbered SR-123 but changed to State Route 122 in 1933. One branch headed east along present SR-122; the other turned south at Hiawatha Junction (just east of the Utah Railway
crossing) and passed east of Mohrland to end at SR-10 near Huntington. The latter branch was split off as State Route 236 in 1945 and removed from the state highway system in 1969. Another branch, running southeast from Wattis to SR-122, became State Route 50 in 1935 and was also deleted in 1969. A short truncation was made to SR-122 at its west end in 1993, after Hiawatha was disincorporated, so that the U.S. Fuel Company could gate the former Main Street. The end was moved from near a curve on Main Street north of Center Street to the east right-of-way line at the railroad crossing.
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, connecting the ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
of Hiawatha with SR-10.
Route description
SR-122 begins at the east right-of-way line of the Utah RailwayUtah Railway
The Utah Railway is a class III railroad operating in Utah and Colorado, and owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc.-History:The Utah Railway Company was incorporated on January 24, 1912, with the name of Utah Coal Railway, shortened to Utah Railway in May of the same year...
, opposite the coal mine and ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
of Hiawatha in the Manti-La Sal National Forest
Manti-La Sal National Forest
The Manti-La Sal National Forest covers 1,270,646 acres and is located in the central and southeastern parts of the U.S. state of Utah and the extreme western part of Colorado...
. It heads east in generally straight lines, gradually descending a ridge from the foothills of Gentry Mountain into the Castle Valley. About two-thirds of the way to the end at SR-10, SR-122 meets a county road from Wattis, another former mining town.
History
A pair of roads connecting the coal miningCoal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
of Hiawatha with SR-10 was added to the state highway system in 1931, initially numbered SR-123 but changed to State Route 122 in 1933. One branch headed east along present SR-122; the other turned south at Hiawatha Junction (just east of the Utah Railway
Utah Railway
The Utah Railway is a class III railroad operating in Utah and Colorado, and owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc.-History:The Utah Railway Company was incorporated on January 24, 1912, with the name of Utah Coal Railway, shortened to Utah Railway in May of the same year...
crossing) and passed east of Mohrland to end at SR-10 near Huntington. The latter branch was split off as State Route 236 in 1945 and removed from the state highway system in 1969. Another branch, running southeast from Wattis to SR-122, became State Route 50 in 1935 and was also deleted in 1969. A short truncation was made to SR-122 at its west end in 1993, after Hiawatha was disincorporated, so that the U.S. Fuel Company could gate the former Main Street. The end was moved from near a curve on Main Street north of Center Street to the east right-of-way line at the railroad crossing.