U.S. Route 287 - History

History

When US 287 was first commissioned in 1939, it extended only from the south entrance of Yellowstone National Park to Denver, Colorado. The route was extended southward to the Gulf Coast at Port Arthur, Texas in 1940, and northward into Montana to US 89 at Choteau, Montana in 1965. U.S. 89 continues north of Choteau into Alberta as Provincial Highway 2 through the major cities of Calgary and Edmonton, connecting with a Canadian link to the Alaska Highway in the latter.

Included in the route of US 287 is former U.S. Route 370, which was commissioned in 1926 and connected Amarillo to Bowie, overlapping US 70 between Vernon and Wichita Falls.

The Canada to Gulf Highway Association, which later became the U.S. Highway 287 Association, was active from the 1910s until the 1970s to promote US 287 as a popular tourist route, and was composed of members from businesses and organizations in cities along the route.

The Wyoming state transportation department started widening U.S. Route 287 in 2009.