U.S. Highway 87 (US 87) is a north-south United States Numbered Highway in the state of Montana. It extends approximately 444.4 miles (715.2 km) from the Wyoming state line north to its terminus at US 2 near Havre.
 U.S. Highway 87 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 87 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by MDT | ||||
| Length | 444.376 mi[1] (715.154 km) | |||
| Existed | 1926–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |   I-90 / US 87 at the Wyoming state line | |||
| North end |  US 2 near Havre | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Montana | |||
| Counties | Big Horn, Yellowstone, Musselshell, Petroleum, Fergus, Judith Basin, Cascade, Chouteau, Hill | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Route description
editUS 87 enters Montana running concurrently with Interstate 90 (I-90) and travels westward for 45.3 miles (72.9 km) to Crow Agency, where US 212 merges with the route. The three routes continue westward for another 54.6 miles (87.9 km) to Billings, where it intersects with the western terminus of I-94 in suburban Lockwood. US 87 follows the I-90/US 212 concurrency for another 3.3 miles (5.3 km) before it heads north, following Main Street through Billings Heights. US 87 continues north for 51 miles (82 km) and intersects US 12, sharing a 2.1-mile (3.4 km) concurrency through Roundup. US 87 continues north with a slight bend to the northwest for 44.7 miles (71.9 km) until it intersects Montana State Highway 200 (MT 200) near Grass Range and takes a sharp turn west; US 87 remains concurrent with MT 200 until Great Falls. US 87 and MT 200 travel west for 30.6 miles (49.2 km) to Lewistown, where they merge with US 191 and continue heading generally westward. About 14.3 miles (23.0 km) west of Lewistown near Moore, it breaks with US 191 and merges with MT 3, where they head northwest for 64.7 miles (104.1 km) and merge with US 89 near Armington. The four-route concurrency of US 87/US 89/MT 3/MT 200 continues northwest for 22.7 miles (36.5 km) to Great Falls, where US 87 leaves all three and travels north through the city. North of Great Falls, US 87 travels northeast for 37.4 miles (60.2 km) to Fort Benton and a final 70 miles (110 km) to its terminus with US 2, about two miles (3.2 km) west of Havre.[1]
History
editUS 87 originally ran northwest out of Great Falls towards the eastern border of Glacier National Park to the Canadian Border at the Piegan Border Crossing. This was changed in 1934, when US 89 was diverted to US 87's routing north of Great Falls. US 87 ended in Great Falls until c. 1945 when it was extended to its current northern terminus near Havre.[2]
Major intersections
edit| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Horn | | 0.000 | 0.000 | — |   I-90 east / US 87 south – Casper, Rapid City | Continuation into Wyoming; exit numbers follow I-90 | ||
| 6.309 | 10.153 | 549 | Aberdeen | |||||
| 12.181 | 19.603 | 544 | Wyola | |||||
| 25.541 | 41.104 | 530 |  S-463 – Lodge Grass | |||||
| 41.467 | 66.735 | 514 | Garryowen | |||||
| 45.347 | 72.979 | 510 |   US 212 east – Little Bighorn Battlefield, Broadus | Southern end of US 212 concurrency | ||||
| 47.012 | 75.658 | 509 | Crow Agency | |||||
| 52.956 | 85.224 | 503 | Dunmore | |||||
| Hardin | 58.650 | 94.388 | 497 |   I-90 BL west (Third Street) – Hardin | ||||
| 60.242 | 96.950 | 495 |   I-90 BL east / MT 47 – Hardin City Center | |||||
| | 71.778 | 115.515 | 484 | Frontage Road – Toluca | ||||
| 77.541 | 124.790 | 478 | Fly Creek Road | |||||
| Yellowstone | | 86.511 | 139.226 | 469 | Arrow Creek Road | |||
| 93.973 | 151.235 | 462 | Pryor Creek Road | |||||
| Billings | 99.973 | 160.891 | 456 |  I-94 east – Miles City, Bismarck | I-94 exit 0; western terminus of I-94 | |||
| 100.842 | 162.289 | 455 | Johnson Lane – Lockwood | |||||
| 103.288 | 166.226 | 452 |   I-90 west / US 212 west – Butte | Northern end of I-90 / US 212 concurrency; eastern terminus of I-90 BL; southern end of I-90 Bus. concurrency | ||||
| 104.552 | 168.260 | I-90 BL (1st Avenue N) – Billings City Center | Northern end of I-90 Bus. concurrency | |||||
| Musselshell | Camp Three | 152.198 | 244.939 |  US 12 west – Harlowton | Southern end of US 12 concurrency | |||
| Roundup | 154.266 | 248.267 | US 12 east – Forsyth | Northern end of US 12 concurrency | ||||
| | 174.686 | 281.130 |   S-244 north – Winnett | |||||
| Petroleum |
No major junctions | |||||||
| Fergus | | 198.930 | 320.147 |   MT 19 east / MT 200 north – Malta, Jordan | Southern end of MT 200 concurrency; southern terminus of MT 19 | |||
| Lewistown | 229.517 | 369.372 |    US 87 Byp. north (Truck Bypass) to US 191 / S-238 south (1st Avenue) – Great Falls | US 87 Byp. is unsigned; former US 191 Bus. | ||||
| 232.456 | 374.102 | US 191 north / US 87 Byp. south (Truck Bypass) | Southern end of US 191 concurrency; US 87 Byp. is unsigned | |||||
| Eddies Corner | 246.791 | 397.172 |  US 191 south / MT 3 south – Harlowton | Northern end of US 191 concurrency; southern end of MT 3 concurrency | ||||
| Judith Basin | | 252.944 | 407.074 |  S-239 west – Hobson, Utica | ||||
| Moccasin | 256.720 | 413.151 |  S-426 north | |||||
| | 261.737 | 421.225 |  S-207 north – Benchland | |||||
| 268.684 | 432.405 |  S-541 south | ||||||
| 274.789 | 442.230 |  MT 80 north – Stanford, Fort Benton | MT 80 southern terminus | |||||
| Geyser | 290.081 | 466.840 |  S-551 north – Geyser | |||||
| | 300.961 | 484.350 |  S-427 south – White Sulphur Springs | |||||
| Cascade | Armington Junction | 311.488 | 501.291 |  US 89 south – Monarch, White Sulphur Springs | Southern end of US 89 concurrency | |||
| | 315.091 | 507.090 |  S-331 north – Belt | |||||
| 327.947 | 527.780 |   S-227 north / S-228 south – Sand Coulee, Highwood | ||||||
| Great Falls | 330.966 | 532.638 |  US 87 Byp. north (57th Street) – Malmstrom AFB | |||||
| 334.146 | 537.756 |   US 89 north / MT 3 west / MT 200 west (10th Avenue S) to I-15 | Northern end of US 89 / MT 3 / MT 200 concurrency | |||||
| 335.893 | 540.567 | River Drive (US 87 Byp. south) | ||||||
| 337.008 | 542.362 | To I-15 / US 89 north / MT 200 west / Northwest Bypass | ||||||
| 337.130 | 542.558 |  S-225 north (Bootlegger Trail) | ||||||
| Chouteau | Carter | 360.532 | 580.220 |  S-564 north | ||||
| | 372.817 | 599.991 |  S-386 east | |||||
| 374.400 | 602.538 |  S-223 north / MT 80 south – Tiber Dam, Chester, Fort Benton | MT 80 northern terminus | |||||
| 376.909 | 606.576 |  S-387 south – Fort Benton | ||||||
| Big Sandy | 412.379 | 663.660 |   S-432 north (Kenilworth Road) / S-236 south (Judith Landing Road) | |||||
| Hill | Box Elder | 423.354 | 681.322 |  S-448 east | ||||
| | 434.741 | 699.648 |  S-334 south – Rocky Boy's Agency | |||||
| West Havre | 444.376 | 715.154 | US 2 – Shelby, Havre | US 87 northern terminus | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| ||||||||
Special routes
editThe following are special routes of U.S. Route 87 in Montana.
Great Falls
edit U.S. Highway 87 Bypass | |
|---|---|
| Location | Great Falls |
| Length | 4.994 mi[3] (8.037 km) |
U.S. Highway 87 Bypass (US 87 Byp.) exists on the eastern and northern edge of Great Falls. The route begins at 10th Avenue South (US 87/US 89/MT 3/MT 200) west of Malmstrom Air Force Base along 57th Street South and runs south to north. Just south of the intersection with 2nd Avenue North the name of the road changes to 57th Street North. At 10th Avenue North, the street name changes to River Drive North, then curves towards the west as it crosses a bridge over a former Milwaukee Road railroad line. The route heads straight west until after the intersection of North Park Trail where it curves to the northwest. After a railroad crossing and the entrance to Giant Springs State Park and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, the road curves to the southwest, generally following the south bank of the Missouri River. US 87 Byp. ends at US 87 south of the 15th Street Bridge, but River Drive North continues along the Missouri River through Riverside Park.[4] It is known internally by Montana Department of Transportation as Corridor N-102 (C005205).[3]
Lewistown
edit| U.S. Highway 87 Bypass | |
|---|---|
| Location | Lewistown |
| Length | 3.253 mi[5] (5.235 km) |
U.S. Highway 87 Bypass (US 87 Byp.) in Lewistown, also known as the Truck Bypass, is an unsigned highway follows the northern and western edge of the city. The route begins at Main Street (US 87/MT 200), just east of downtown, and follows 1st Avenue North to Kendall Road (US 191 north), where the roadway turns westward becoming 6th Avenue North and also becomes part of US 191. Just west of Lewistown, the roadway turns southwest and re-joins US 87/MT 200.[6] US 87 Byp. is unsigned as the majority of the route is signed as part of US 191. It is known internally by Montana Department of Transportation as part of Corridor N-43 (C000043) and N-75 (C000075).[5]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c Road Inventory and Mapping Section (2013). Montana Road Log (PDF). Helena: Montana Department of Transportation. pp. 16–18, 63–66, 95–96, 70–72, 95–96, 100–101. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
- ^ Sanderson, Dale (April 13, 2020). "End of US Highway 87". US Ends.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020.[self-published source]
- ^ a b Road Inventory and Mapping Section (2013). Montana Road Log (PDF). Helena: Montana Department of Transportation. p. 113. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
- ^ Microsoft; Nokia. "Great Falls, Montana" (Map). Bing Maps. Microsoft. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
- ^ a b Road Inventory and Mapping Section (2013). Montana Road Log (PDF). Helena: Montana Department of Transportation. p. 530. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- ^ Microsoft; Nokia. "Lewistown, Montana" (Map). Bing Maps. Microsoft. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
External links
edit
Media related to U.S. Route 87 in Montana at Wikimedia Commons
