Wyoming Highway 59
Encyclopedia
Wyoming Highway 59 is a 171.72 miles (276.4 km) long north–south state highway
that runs from Douglas
to the Montana
–Wyoming
State Line, where the roadway continues as Montana Highway 59
.
(Esterbrook Road), and exit 140 of Interstate 25 in Douglas
.
Highway 59 then intersects Wyoming Highway 93
just 0.07 mile (0.1126538 km) north of its start. Past WYO 93, Highway 59 travels around the northwest side Douglas and acts as a bypass. At 3.89 miles (6.3 km) there is a junction with Wyoming Highway 59C, a spur of WYO 59 and the former routing of WYO 59 through Douglas.
, WYO 59 passes through Bill
, an unincorporated community in Converse County. Bill consists of a combined gas station and rural post office serving local ranches and a hotel and diner for Union Pacific Railroad employees who take mandatory rests in the town Between Bill and Wright, WYO 59 leaves Converse County and enters Campbell County.
At 74.07 miles (119.2 km), Highway 59 interects Wyoming Highway 450
just south of Wright
. WYO 450 heads east from here to Newcastle
. Approximately 2.7 miles (4.3 km) north of the WYO 450 intersection, Highway 59 intersects Wyoming Highway 387
in Wright. WYO 387 travels west to Midwest
and Edgerton
. Wright is a town in Campbell County where settlement began in the 1970s, with the creation of the Black Thunder Coal Mine, the largest mine in the Powder River Basin and most productive mine in the United States. The town itself was incorporated in 1985. Established as a mining town, the majority of people living in Wright are employed by the various mines that surround it.
From Wright to Gillette there are no intersections with major highways and the landscape consists of buttes covered with short grasses. At 113 miles (181.9 km) into its route, Highway 59 enters Gillette as South Douglas Highway.
is a city and county seat of Campbell County. It is a small city centrally located in an area that is vital to the development of vast quantities of American coal, oil, and coal bed methane gas, as a result, the city calls itself the "Energy Capital of the Nation".
At about 113.8 miles (183.1 km), WYO 59 intersects I-90 (Exit 126) and then enters downtown and intersects US 14
/US 16
/I-90 BUS at a "T" intersection at 114.76 miles (184.7 km).
WYO 59 turns west onto 2nd Street and runs concurrent with US 14/US 16/I-90 BUS. Around 118 miles (189.9 km), WYO 59 begins to turn north and intersects Wyoming Highway 50
(Skyline Drive). Wyoming Highway 50 used to be routed down 4J Road into Gillette. Sometime between 1980 and 1993, WYO 50 was transferred to Skyline Drive, which provides easier access to Interstate 90. At the intersection with WYO 50, I-90 BUS turns west to run concurrent with Highway 50 to Interstate 90. WYO 59 continues north concurrent with US 14 and US 16 out of Gillette.
. Highway 59 turns east onto its own routing north, US 14/US 16 continue north on their routing west, and Airport Road heads west into the Gillette-Campbell County Airport
.
At approximately 145.75 miles (234.6 km), WYO 59 passes through Weston
. Weston is an unincorporated community in northern Campbell County, along the upper Little Powder River on the southeastern edge of the Thunder Basin National Grassland
. Even though Weston is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code
of 82731.
For the rest of the way through Campbell County, Highway 59 parallels Little Powder River that lies to the highway's east all the way to the state line.
Wyoming Highway 59 ends at the Montana
-Wyoming
State Line. The highway continues north as Montana Highway 59
until its junction with Montana Highway 200
at Jordan, Montana
.
Wyoming Highway 59 follows State Control Number P-43 for its entire length.
. After 1945, the road was known as Wyoming Highway 59. U.S. Route 185 was commissioned in 1926 to run from Cheyenne
to Orin. It was proposed that US 185 continue north to Gillette, via US 20 between Orin and Douglas, and via Wyoming Highway 59 between Douglas and Gillette. But the road now carrying WYO 59 did not exist. So when Highway 59 was constructed in the late 1920s and early 1930s, it carried the designation US 185. After the Great Recommissioning of 1936, Wyoming 185 was renumbered to Wyoming 387, since the route directly connected to the new U.S. 87, not U.S. 85. In 1945, the 387 designation was changed to WYO 59.
. WYO 59C is the original alignment of Wyoming Highway 59 through Douglas. The route begins at WYO 59 and heads south 0.45 of a mile to meet WYO 59 (Fourth St.)
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...
that runs from Douglas
Douglas, Wyoming
Douglas is a city in Converse County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 5,288 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Converse County...
to the Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
–Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
State Line, where the roadway continues as Montana Highway 59
Montana Highway 59
Highway 59 in the U.S. State of Montana is a route running northerly from the Wyoming state line to an intersection with Montana Highway 200 near the south end of the town of Jordan, a distance of approximately . At the Wyoming state line, the road becomes Wyoming Highway 59, which continues south...
.
Douglas
Wyoming Highway 59 begins its southern end at an intersection with I-25 BUS/US 20 BUS/US 26 BUS/US 87 BUS (W. Yellowstone Highway), the northern terminus of Wyoming Highway 94Wyoming Highway 94
Wyoming Highway 94 is a north-south Wyoming State Road located in southern Converse County south of Douglas.-Route description:Wyoming Highway 94 begins its southern end south of Douglas, north of Esterbrook. Converse County Route 5 takes over the roadway to Esterbrook. WYO 94 heads north towards...
(Esterbrook Road), and exit 140 of Interstate 25 in Douglas
Douglas, Wyoming
Douglas is a city in Converse County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 5,288 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Converse County...
.
Highway 59 then intersects Wyoming Highway 93
Wyoming Highway 93
Wyoming Highway 93 is a north-south Wyoming State Road located in central Converse County northwest of Douglas.-Route description:...
just 0.07 mile (0.1126538 km) north of its start. Past WYO 93, Highway 59 travels around the northwest side Douglas and acts as a bypass. At 3.89 miles (6.3 km) there is a junction with Wyoming Highway 59C, a spur of WYO 59 and the former routing of WYO 59 through Douglas.
Douglas to Gillette
Wyoming Highway 59 along its route between Gillette and Douglas to some is one of the most desolate or barren place in the country. At approximately 38.5 miles (62 km) or halfway to WrightWright, Wyoming
Wright is a town in Campbell County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,504 at the 2010 census.- History :Settlement began in the area near Wright in the 1970s, with the creation of the Black Thunder Coal Mine, the largest mine in the Powder River Basin and most productive mine in the...
, WYO 59 passes through Bill
Bill, Wyoming
Bill is an unincorporated community in Converse County, Wyoming, United States.The settlement is rumored to have begun after World War I when a doctor moved there. It was called "Bill" by the doctor's wife due to a number of men in the area with that name....
, an unincorporated community in Converse County. Bill consists of a combined gas station and rural post office serving local ranches and a hotel and diner for Union Pacific Railroad employees who take mandatory rests in the town Between Bill and Wright, WYO 59 leaves Converse County and enters Campbell County.
At 74.07 miles (119.2 km), Highway 59 interects Wyoming Highway 450
Wyoming Highway 450
Wyoming Highway 450 is a east-west Wyoming State Road in Campbell and Weston counties that provides travels between WYO 59 at Wright and U.S. Route 16 at Newcastle.-Route description:...
just south of Wright
Wright, Wyoming
Wright is a town in Campbell County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,504 at the 2010 census.- History :Settlement began in the area near Wright in the 1970s, with the creation of the Black Thunder Coal Mine, the largest mine in the Powder River Basin and most productive mine in the...
. WYO 450 heads east from here to Newcastle
Newcastle, Wyoming
Newcastle is a city in and the county seat of Weston County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 3,065 at the 2000 census.- Geography :Newcastle is located at...
. Approximately 2.7 miles (4.3 km) north of the WYO 450 intersection, Highway 59 intersects Wyoming Highway 387
Wyoming Highway 387
Wyoming Highway 387 is a state road that travels from extreme northeast Natrona County, Wyoming through extreme southeast Johnson County, Wyoming and into southwest Campbell County, Wyoming.-Route description:...
in Wright. WYO 387 travels west to Midwest
Midwest, Wyoming
Midwest is a town in Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. It is part of the Casper, Wyoming Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 408 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Midwest is located at ....
and Edgerton
Edgerton, Wyoming
Edgerton is a town in Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. It is part of the Casper, Wyoming Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 169 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Edgerton is located at ....
. Wright is a town in Campbell County where settlement began in the 1970s, with the creation of the Black Thunder Coal Mine, the largest mine in the Powder River Basin and most productive mine in the United States. The town itself was incorporated in 1985. Established as a mining town, the majority of people living in Wright are employed by the various mines that surround it.
From Wright to Gillette there are no intersections with major highways and the landscape consists of buttes covered with short grasses. At 113 miles (181.9 km) into its route, Highway 59 enters Gillette as South Douglas Highway.
Gillette
GilletteGillette, Wyoming
Gillette is a city in and the county seat of Campbell County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 29,087 in 2010. Gillette is a city centrally located in an area involved with the development of vast quantities of American coal, oil, and coal bed methane gas...
is a city and county seat of Campbell County. It is a small city centrally located in an area that is vital to the development of vast quantities of American coal, oil, and coal bed methane gas, as a result, the city calls itself the "Energy Capital of the Nation".
At about 113.8 miles (183.1 km), WYO 59 intersects I-90 (Exit 126) and then enters downtown and intersects US 14
U.S. Route 14 in Wyoming
In the U.S. state of Wyoming U.S. Route 14 runs east west across the northern part of the state. The road connects South Dakota on the east with Yellowstone National Park on the west...
/US 16
U.S. Route 16
U.S. Route 16 is an east–west United States Highway between Rapid City, South Dakota and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming....
/I-90 BUS at a "T" intersection at 114.76 miles (184.7 km).
WYO 59 turns west onto 2nd Street and runs concurrent with US 14/US 16/I-90 BUS. Around 118 miles (189.9 km), WYO 59 begins to turn north and intersects Wyoming Highway 50
Wyoming Highway 50
Wyoming Highway 50 is a north-south Wyoming State Road located in the southwestern and central part of Campbell County that travels from Wyoming Highway 387 at Pine Tree Junction north to Interstate 90, US 14/US 16/WYO 59 in Gillette.-Route description:...
(Skyline Drive). Wyoming Highway 50 used to be routed down 4J Road into Gillette. Sometime between 1980 and 1993, WYO 50 was transferred to Skyline Drive, which provides easier access to Interstate 90. At the intersection with WYO 50, I-90 BUS turns west to run concurrent with Highway 50 to Interstate 90. WYO 59 continues north concurrent with US 14 and US 16 out of Gillette.
Gillette to State Line
At 119.57 miles (192.4 km), and northwest of Gillette, WYO 59 ends its concurrency with US 14/US 16 at a four-way intersection east of the Gillette-Campbell County AirportGillette-Campbell County Airport
Gillette-Campbell County Airport is a controlled, public airport located four miles northwest of Gillette, in Campbell County, Wyoming, USA. It is mainly used for general aviation, but is also served by Great Lakes Aviation for United Airlines and Frontier Airlines and one commercial cargo...
. Highway 59 turns east onto its own routing north, US 14/US 16 continue north on their routing west, and Airport Road heads west into the Gillette-Campbell County Airport
Gillette-Campbell County Airport
Gillette-Campbell County Airport is a controlled, public airport located four miles northwest of Gillette, in Campbell County, Wyoming, USA. It is mainly used for general aviation, but is also served by Great Lakes Aviation for United Airlines and Frontier Airlines and one commercial cargo...
.
At approximately 145.75 miles (234.6 km), WYO 59 passes through Weston
Weston, Wyoming
Weston is an unincorporated community in northern Campbell County, Wyoming, United States, along the upper Little Powder River on the southeastern edge of the Thunder Basin National Grassland. It lies along WYO 59 north of the city of Gillette, the county seat of Campbell County. Its elevation is...
. Weston is an unincorporated community in northern Campbell County, along the upper Little Powder River on the southeastern edge of the Thunder Basin National Grassland
Thunder Basin National Grassland
The Thunder Basin National Grassland is located in northeastern Wyoming in the Powder River Basin between the Big Horn Mountains and the Black Hills. The Grassland ranges in elevation from feet to and the climate is semi-arid. The Grassland provides opportunities for recreation, including hiking,...
. Even though Weston is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
of 82731.
For the rest of the way through Campbell County, Highway 59 parallels Little Powder River that lies to the highway's east all the way to the state line.
Wyoming Highway 59 ends at the Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
-Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
State Line. The highway continues north as Montana Highway 59
Montana Highway 59
Highway 59 in the U.S. State of Montana is a route running northerly from the Wyoming state line to an intersection with Montana Highway 200 near the south end of the town of Jordan, a distance of approximately . At the Wyoming state line, the road becomes Wyoming Highway 59, which continues south...
until its junction with Montana Highway 200
Montana Highway 200
Highway 200 in the U.S. State of Montana is a route running westerly covering the entire state of Montana, from the starting point of ND 200 near Fairview, Montana to ID 200, near Heron, Montana...
at Jordan, Montana
Jordan, Montana
Jordan is a town in and the county seat of Garfield County, Montana, United States. The population was 364 at the 2000 census.-History:Originally settled in 1896, Jordan received a post office on July 11, 1899...
.
Wyoming Highway 59 follows State Control Number P-43 for its entire length.
History
Wyoming Highway 59 was formerly numbered U.S. Route 185 prior to 1936. From 1936 and 1945, it was known as Wyoming Highway 387Wyoming Highway 387
Wyoming Highway 387 is a state road that travels from extreme northeast Natrona County, Wyoming through extreme southeast Johnson County, Wyoming and into southwest Campbell County, Wyoming.-Route description:...
. After 1945, the road was known as Wyoming Highway 59. U.S. Route 185 was commissioned in 1926 to run from Cheyenne
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
to Orin. It was proposed that US 185 continue north to Gillette, via US 20 between Orin and Douglas, and via Wyoming Highway 59 between Douglas and Gillette. But the road now carrying WYO 59 did not exist. So when Highway 59 was constructed in the late 1920s and early 1930s, it carried the designation US 185. After the Great Recommissioning of 1936, Wyoming 185 was renumbered to Wyoming 387, since the route directly connected to the new U.S. 87, not U.S. 85. In 1945, the 387 designation was changed to WYO 59.
Major intersections
Wyoming Highway 59 Connector
Wyoming Highway 59 Connector is a 0.45 mile (0.724203 km) long connector route of WYO 59 in DouglasDouglas, Wyoming
Douglas is a city in Converse County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 5,288 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Converse County...
. WYO 59C is the original alignment of Wyoming Highway 59 through Douglas. The route begins at WYO 59 and heads south 0.45 of a mile to meet WYO 59 (Fourth St.)
External links
- Wyoming State Routes 000-099
- WYO 59 – I-25 Bus/US 20 Bus/US 26 Bus/US 87 Bus/WYO 94 to WYO 93
- WYO 59 – WYO 93 to WYO 450
- WYO 59 – WYO 450 to WYO 387
- WYO 59 – WYO 387 to I-90
- WYO 59 – I-90 to I-90 Bus/US 14/US 16
- WYO 59 – I-90 Bus/US 14/US 16 to I-90 Bus/WYO 50
- WYO 59 – I-90 Bus/WYO 50 to US 14/US 16
- WYO 59 – US 14/US 16 to MT 59/Montana State Line