Best Route- Albuquerque, NM to Salt Lake CIty, UT

If u got the time stop off and see the hole in the wall, in Moab, really cool!

 

Yeah, NM was the last state to rename US666. It became US491 in 2003.

History lesson:

US666 almost wasn't US666 at all. It was the result of a hissy fit.

When the US highway system was conceived by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) in the mid 20's, it had a simple numbering convention. East/West routes were assigned even numbers and north/south routes were assigned odd numbers. Transcontinental and major east/west routes ended in "0" (example US30) while major north/south routes ended in "1" (example US11)

Thats nice, you say, but what does that have to do with US666? US666 wasn't always US666. It was originally numbered as US560. Confused yet? Here's the scoop: The LA to Chicago route we all know as former US66 AKA the mother road was originally numbered US60 by the AASHO in 1925. 5 branches of US60 were approved. The westernmost being US560, which ran from Gallup, NM to Cortez, CO. However, in 1926, the AASHO approved a sixth branch of US60 that ran from San Antonio NM to Hondo, NM, intersecting with then US360 and US460 (which is present day NM Rt 1/former US85) Since it was east of then US560, US560 was given to the new branch and the Gallup/Cortez US560 was renamed US660. (Today, the US560 that originally ran from San Antonio, NM to Hondo, NM is present day US380).


Now for the hissy fit. Kentucky and several other states protested that US60 should have been a transcontinental route that ran farther east than Chicago. So to end the bickering, the AASHO reached a compromise and designated a stretch of highway from Springfield, MO to Virginia Beach, VA as US60 and renamed the LA-Chicago route US66. Since the US60 branches were now branches of US66, US660 was renamed US666. US666 held onto that designation until June 1, 2003 when the last stretch of original US666 (from Gallup, NM to Shiprock, NM) was re-designated as US491.


I guess the bickering was a good thing, since "Get your kicks on Route Sixty" doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

But as per the original question, US550 is a good route. It is 4 lanes from Bernalillo to Bloomfield and has a 70 mph speed limit.



FWIW, the intersection of US550 and NM313 in Bernalillo was made famous in the movie "Convoy". It's at that intersection where the "Black Widow's" white Brockway truck overturned while making that right turn.



Here's a short writeup and pics of the intersection.



http://www.stlouisdumptrucks.com/ConvoyMackTruck/WidowsBrockway.html

 

I drive that route a couple of times per year- usually I take the I-40 to Gallup, then north on 491 to Cortez, Moab, Green River, then US6 to Price and Spanish Fork. I think it's a little faster via Gallup and Shiprock, than taking the 550 through Farmington- that route has more towns you have to slow down through, and a lengthy 45 mph area along the San Juan River. 491 has gotten better, as it was under construction from around 2015-2018, but now is mostly 4-lane... some annoying 55mph "safety zones" the Indians force you to slow down through, but oh well, not much traffic here. I just wish there was a freeway from Albuquerque to Salt Lake- Cortez to Spanish Fork is mostly a 2-lane highway, 65 max speed, sometimes 55... and taking on the I-90 to I-84 route once you get to Green River is at least an hour longer, and many more miles- also quite an uphill run from Green River onward for trucks. (on I-90)

 

I'm guessing he has finished that trip by now...

 

Heck. Its only a 12 year old thread. Pack Rat may be out of the hoosecow by now.