| Type: | US |
| Route: | 30 |
| Map Notes: | US 30 highlighted in red |
| Map Custom: | yes |
| Length Mi: | 454.37 |
| Length Ref: | [1] |
| Established: | 1926 |
| Direction A: | West |
| Direction B: | East |
| Terminus A: | at the Idaho state line near Kemmerer |
| Terminus B: | at the Nebraska state line in Pine Bluffs |
| Junctions: |
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| Previous Type: | WY |
| Next Type: | WY |
| Previous Route: | 28 |
| Next Route: | 30 |
| States: | Wyoming |
| Counties: | Lincoln, Sweetwater, Carbon, Albany, Laramie |
| State: | WY |
U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Astoria, Oregon, to Atlantic City, New Jersey. Within the U.S. state of Wyoming, it runs from Kemmerer to Pine Bluffs by way of Rock Springs, Laramie, and Cheyenne. The route runs mostly along the historic Lincoln Highway.[2] It intersects and shares three concurrencies with I-80, of which it parallels, numerous times during its run.[3]
US 30 enters Lincoln County, Wyoming from Bear Lake County, Idaho. Shortly after, it intersects Wyoming Highway 89, which runs northward to the Idaho state line, becoming Idaho State Highway 61, subsequently intersecting with U.S. Route 89. WYO 89 latches onto US 30 coming south. The road turns southeast, and the two routes begin a concurrency.
Cokeville is the first civilized town that the routes enter. Here, they meet Wyoming Highway 232, which continues into the town limits. Immediately after that junction, US 30 and WYO 89 leave the town and continue through dry, sandy plains with some farmland scattered on the sides. Through here, the road largely parallels the Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge as the two routes continue south.[4] Eventually, WYO 89 leaves US 30 just west of Kemmerer as US 30 continues alone to the city itself.
Shortly before reaching the city limits, US 30 splits off to enter the city center while a bypass route bends south to avoid Kemmerer entirely. In the city, US 30 meets US 189. The latter route turns southeastward, and the two routes are concurrent through the city on Pine Avenue. Briefly after passing Onyx Street, the road becomes Coral Street, then Fossil Drive as US 30 and 189 turn nearly due south to enter Diamondville. The road turns entirely in a due west direction as US 30 and 189 leave the city a mile later at the intersection of Lincoln Street and Spring Valley Drive, and US 30 and 189 enter rural areas. The section of US 30 west of Kemmerer is planned to be rerouted to parallel the Union Pacific Railroad as part of a project to expand a nearby coal mine. Wyoming Department of Transportation has announced that this project would provide more jobs and economic benefits.[5]
US 30 rejoins its bypass route splitting off from US 189, which continues further south towards Evanston. Continuing east, the road runs through dry farmland without any junctions for a few miles until the town of Opal, where it meets Wyoming Highway 240, though unlike Cokeville, it does not enter the town directly. After that junction, US 30 once again runs through rocky soil and grassy plains. Entering Sweetwater County, the road intersects I-80 near Granger as it merges on to the interstate for the first time, and the two are duplexed for a very long distance (169miles). Through their concurrency, I-80/US 30 intersect Wyoming Highway 372 near James Town, business routes of I-80/US 30 in Green River, and share a brief concurrency with US 191 to Rock Springs, where US 191 splits off after entering the downtown area. After this, I-80/US 30 have no major intersections for nearly 60miles.[6]
I-80/US 30 enter Carbon County, where the next major intersection is in Rawlins. Here, US 287 joins the concurrency. The three routes are triplexed for 20miles as they pass by Sinclair to intersect the eastern terminus of Wyoming Highway 76. In Walcott, US 30 and US 287 split off from I-80. The two routes follow the length of the Medicine Bow Mountains as they run through Medicine Bow, and enter Albany County. They continue through Wilcox, Rock River, Lookout, and Bosler, before reaching Laramie, the next major city, and home to the University of Wyoming.[7] Within Laramie, another business route of I-80 joins and becomes concurrent with US 30 and US 287 on 3rd Street. Once they reach Grand Avenue, I-80 BL/US 30 turn east on Grand Avenue while US 287 continues south on 3rd Street even further into downtown Laramie.US 30 rejoins I-80 east of Laramie, where the two routes pass by numerous mountain ranges. They also pass an exit for numerous campgrounds, as well as an Abraham Lincoln Memorial Monument. The monument was chosen as "Roadside America's Sight of the Week."[8] They pass through Buford, along with several climbing areas and state parks dotting the sides of the route. There are several scenic sites to see along the road while driving in this part of the area.[9] The road then enters Laramie County, the final county in the state that both I-80 and US 30 pass through. West of Cheyenne, the state capital, the routes pass by a large wind farm, and follow a gap of bumpy hills in the area. The first major interchange approaching Cheyenne is with Wyoming Highway 222. Both I-80 and US 30 enter Cheyenne, but not together. At the interchange with Wyoming Highway 225, one more business loop of I-80 breaks off, and so does US 30 along with the business route. As I-80 BL/US 30 enter the downtown area, they pass by numerous businesses, restaurants, and hotels lining the road. They intersect I-25 and US 87, the state's main north-south corridors. Continuing on East Lincolnway, the roads meet I-180, I-25 BL, and US 85. Although I-180 is considered as an interstate, it runs on surface roads, and thus is not conformed to interstate standards.[10] Since these roads are on one-way streets, southbound traffic uses Central Avenue and northbound traffic uses Warren Avenue, and US 30 intersects both of these streets separately. After leaving Cheyenne, it merges back on I-80 for the third and final time. They travel through Hillsdale and parallel the Union Pacific Railroad's Sidney Subdivision line.[11] Once the routes reach Pine Bluffs, US 30 splits off into the town, and both of the routes continue into Kimball County, Nebraska separate from each other.
US 30 was established in 1926 as a replacement for the former Lincoln Highway, a transcontinental route connecting San Francisco, California, to Times Square in New York City.[12] It was named after the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln.[13] In Wyoming, the Lincoln Highway ran through several areas US 30 currently does not run through, and many of the isolated communities US 30 formerly ran through were paths of the Lincoln Highway. The highway also ran through several more cities in Wyoming that both I-80 and US 30 were rerouted from, such as Green River, Rock Springs, and Laramie, and it mostly follows the path of the two highways' respective business routes. In addition, some of the old roads US 30 historically traveled on that it does not follow and runs concurrently with I-80 today, still run along the first generation of the Lincoln Highway. A portion of US 287, concurrent with US 30 from Rawlins to Laramie, was also part of the historic highway.
See also: Special routes of U.S. Route 30.