State Route 79 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Utah that spans in Ogden, Weber County, with another consisting of the westbound segment of a brief one-way pair. The route connects SR-126 and I-15 to US-89 and SR-203 as it passes through the center of Ogden on Hinckley Drive and portions of 30th and 31st Streets. The highway was formed in 1957, initially routed from SR-38 east to SR-204. It was subsequently extended west to SR-126 and east to Harrison Boulevard, before being extended west again to SR-108.
Route description
SR-79 begins at an intersection with SR-108 in West Haven and proceeds east on Hinckley Drive, with two lanes in each direction separated by a center turn lane. It climbs a hill and crosses the former alignment of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, entering the city limits of Roy. It then crosses the Union Pacific and FrontRunner railroad tracks on a bridge more than long; the girders on this bridge were the largest steel girders ever installed in Utah on a non-freeway project. SR-79 then comes to a junction with SR-126 and enters the city limits of Ogden. The highway turns slightly to northeast on Hinckley Drive and gains a center median, straddling the northern periphery of Ogden-Hinckley Airport. Before intersecting 1325 West the road loses division of its lanes. Passing the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue the road turns east, gains a lane in each direction and intersects at a diamond interchange with I-15. Past Parker Drive the road again briefly turns northeast and climbs onto a viaduct over railroad tracks. The termination of the viaduct begins the one-way pair of SR-79, with 30th Street forming the westbound segment and 31st Street the eastbound segment. The pair continues for until reaching Washington Boulevard, where 31st Street loses state maintenance and SR-79 continues on 30th Street, now a two-way street. The two-lane highway continues east until reaching Harrison Boulevard, where SR-79 ends. The portion of the route east of I-15 is included in the National Highway System.
History
State Route 79 was established on May 14, 1957, then traveling from Pennsylvania Avenue northeast to Wall Avenue. In 1958, the route was extended east to Washington Boulevard via 31st and Patterson Streets. In 1966 a portion of SR-38 between SR-84 was transferred to SR-79. In 1970 a portion of 30th Street between US-91 and SR-203 was relinquished by Ogden and the state assumed responsibility. By 1979 Patterson Avenue was given back to the city and in 1994 30th Street between Washington Boulevard west to 31st Street became the westbound segment of SR-79. In fall 2009, over eight years after it had been first proposed, construction began on an extension of Hinckley Drive west to Midland Drive. The road opened in August 2010, and SR-79 was extended to its current terminus at that time.
