End of US highway 310
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Approx. time period
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North Terminus
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East Terminus
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1926-present
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Laurel, MT
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(near Greybull, WY)
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| Point where signed directions change from "East/West" to
"North/South": |
MT/WY state line |
(about 87 k)
Note: since I don't have access to a comprehensive collection of historical
road atlases, much of the info on this page is based on the research of Robert
Droz; click here to view
his site. Photo credits: Chris
Elbert; Alan
Hamilton; Jonathan
Winkler; me
US 310 has been around since the beginning in 1926; its purpose was to connect
US 10 at Laurel MT with US 20 at Greybull WY. Today there is no US 10 west of
Fargo ND, but its "child" US 310 still hearkens back to its existence through
Montana. US 310 serves as an example of a north/south route which had to be
assigned an east/west number (because it didn't connect with any other north/south
routes). But interestingly, Wyoming signs US 310 as an east/west route anyway.
Today US 20 west of Greybull WY is also US 14 and US 16, but the "east"
end of US 310 remains the same - the shot below is approaching that endpoint:
Elbert,
July 2005
The stop sign in the distance marks the actual terminus of US 310, but there
was no further route signage ahead. The photo below shows the east beginning
of US 310 as seen from eastbound US 14/16/20...
Elbert,
July 2005
...and the shot below was taken from the opposite direction:
Elbert,
July 2005
Heading to the right there, Chris reports that there was no reassurance marker
for at least two miles. But here's a photo of one heading that direction (not
sure where it was taken):
Winkler,
Aug. 2000
Heading into Montana from there, directional signage on US 310 changes from
east-west to north-south. Today most signs seems to indicate that the north
end of US 310 is still at its junction with old US 10 (now Business I-90) in
Laurel. The photo below is looking north on US 310 and east on US 212, just
south of the I-90 interchange:
me, Mar. 2000
US 212 and US 310 split at this point: from here US 212 is
co-signed with I-90 through Billings, all the way to the Little
Bighorn Battlefield (site of Custer's infamous Last Stand). US 310
continues north another mile or so, to its junction with Main Street,
or Business I-90:
Hamilton, July 2004
So today, while US 310 has been orphaned, its number still bears
witness to the time when its parent, the once-grand US 10, ran
through these parts. Heading east on Main, the signage looks like
this:
Hamilton, July 2004
Not sure whether the "TO" banner was meant to apply to US 310 as
well as I-90; the first reassurance marker isn't posted until south
of I-90:
me, Mar. 2000
Page created 15 May 2000; last updated 19 August 2005.
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