Interstate 80 in Utah

Interstate 80
Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway Purple Heart Trail
I-80 highlighted in red for Utah section
Route information
Maintained by UDOT
Length	197.51 mi[1] (317.86 km)
Existed	1956–present
History	Completed August 22, 1986
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	I-80 at Nevada state line
Major intersections	SR-201 near Magna SR-154 in Salt Lake City I-215 in Salt Lake City I-15 in Salt Lake City SR-201 in Salt Lake City I-15 in South Salt Lake US 89 in South Salt Lake I-215 in Millcreek US 40 / US 189 near Park City I-84 in Echo
East end	I-80 / US 189 at Wyoming state line
Location
Country	United States
State	Utah
Counties	Tooele, Salt Lake, Summit
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Utah State Highway System Interstate US State Minor Scenic
← SR-79 → SR-81

Interstate 80 (I-80) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey. The portion of the highway in the US state of Utah is 197.51 miles (317.86 km) long through the northern part of the state. From west to east, I-80 crosses the state line from Nevada in Tooele County and traverses the Bonneville Salt Flats—which are a part of the larger Great Salt Lake Desert. It continues alongside the Wendover Cut-off—the corridor of the former Victory Highway—US Route 40 (US-40) and the Western Pacific Railroad Feather River Route. After passing the Oquirrh Mountains, I-80 enters the Salt Lake Valley and Salt Lake County. A short portion of the freeway is concurrent with I-15 through Downtown Salt Lake City. At the Spaghetti Bowl, I-80 turns east again into the mouth of Parleys Canyon and Summit County, travels through the mountain range, and intersects the eastern end of I-84 near Echo Reservoir before turning northeast toward the Wyoming border near Evanston. I-80 was built along the corridor of the Lincoln Highway and the Mormon Trail through the Wasatch Range. The easternmost section also follows the historical routes of the first transcontinental railroad and US-30S.

Construction of the controlled-access highway began in the 1950s, and, by the late 1970s, most of the freeway across the state of Utah had been completed. The 4.5-mile-long (7.2 km) section of I-80 between State Route 68 (SR-68, Redwood Road) and Salt Lake City International Airport was the last piece of the nearly 2,900-mile-long (4,700 km) freeway to be completed. It was opened on August 22, 1986, and was about 50 miles (80 km) from the site of another cross-country milestone in Utah, the driving of the golden spike of the first transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit. Average daily traffic volumes in 2012 ranged between 6,765 vehicles using the freeway at SR-58 and 121,205 vehicles using the freeway at the Spaghetti Bowl in Downtown Salt Lake City. Throughout the state, the highway is also known as the Purple Heart Trail.