End of US highway 310

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Photo credits: Chris Elbert; Alan Hamilton; Jonathan Winkler; me

Approx. time period North terminus East terminus
1926-present Laurel, MT (near Greybull, WY)

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 branch 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 confirming 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:

Elbert, July 2009

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. Heading the opposite direction, there's a US 310 sign posted as if Business I-90 is US 310...

Elbert, July 2009

...but probably the intention was to have a left-arrow included there, because there is no mention of US 310 on the upcoming assembly:

Elbert, July 2009

If you make that left turn, the first confirming marker isn't posted until south of I-90:

me, Mar. 2000

Except for the "West 310" sign shown above, I think US 310 is otherwise signed north-south in Montana.