End of US highway 183 |
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Summa
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Summa
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1930-1932
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1932-1937
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1937-1939
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1939-1941
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1941-1951
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1951-present
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Mileage: in 1989 AASHTO listed a figure of 1268 miles for US 27... however, that included the mileage of US 183's associated bypass route. According to the state subtotals on AASHTO's 1989 spreadsheet, mainline US 183's actual end-to-end total was 1261 miles... however, that was assuming an endpoint west of Vivian. Yet apparently South Dakota has never signed US 183 beyond Presho (more below), and our own 2020 measurement yielded 1244.3 miles. Want historic mileages? Our handy reference book includes the mileages that were published in all 13 of AASHO/AASHTO's historic route logs (spanning the years 1927 to 1989).
 When it was first commissioned in 1930, US 183 was ultimately intended to run all the way north to US 83 at Vivian SD, but the road through the Nebraska Sand Hills would not be complete for several more years, so the de facto north end of US 183 was in North Platte. This photo was looking north on Jeffers Street (US 83); the upcoming light is at 4th Street:
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Sanderson, June 2001
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At the time of that photo, westbound US 30 came in on 4th, turned straight ahead on Jeffers, and overlapped with US 83 for eight blocks. At 12th Street, US 30 split off again to the west (today US 30 stays on 12th all through the north part of the city). But back in 1930, US 83 did not run through North Platte. Instead it was US 183 that came up this way from Kansas:
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c. 1931, Clason
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The designation ended at US 30, at the intersection shown above. This shot shows the same place, viewed from westbound US 30 (west on 4th). US 30 has always turned north here. But -- whereas today US 83 goes both ways -- in 1930 the north beginning of US 183 was to the left:
Sanderson, June 2001
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Many maps showed the north end of US 183 near Vivian, and it was probably signposted south of there a ways, perhaps to Valentine NE:
c. 1940, Rand McNally
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That map indicated that US 16-183 overlapped between Murdo and US 83, and this photo proves it was signposted that way, at least initially:
c. 1938? (attribution unknown)
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That map showed the original routings of both US 16 and US 83 in the area around Vivian, but both corridors have long since been changed, and the original junction where US 183 ended at US 83 does not exist anymore. North and west from Vivian, US 16 originally followed what is now County Road 16 towards Draper. That road intersects modern US 83 about 2.5 miles north of the I-90 interchange, but the original US 83 has been vacated. Its scar is barely visible on aerial photos, but nothing remains at the location of the historic junction. This interactive image is looking west along CR 16 from current US 83; historic 83 was about 2/10ths mile ahead. Northbound US 83 was to the right; southbound was to the left, as was eastbound US 16. Westbound US 16 was straight ahead, and that was also the north beginning of US 183:
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But US 183's terminus was probably not there for long: this 1936 map showed no US 16-183 overlap, instead explicitly labeling the junction in Murdo as the north end of US 183:
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1950 Census Enumeration District Map using a 1936 basemap (linked to source)
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So it is possible that South Dakota truncated US 183 to Murdo at some point. That map is also interesting because it showed the original alignment of US 16 through Murdo: instead of following today's (unmarked) SD hwy. 248 along 5th Street, US 16 originally ran along 2nd Street and 270th Avenue to a now-abandoned alignment on the south side of I-90. So US 183 would have ended heading north on Kennedy Avenue at 2nd. This photo was taken looking east on 2nd; to the right on Kennedy was the north beginning of US 183:
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Morrison, Oct. 2020
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That arrangement was also short-lived, because in 1941, the routings of US 83 and 183 were essentially swapped in South Dakota. (The history of US 83 and its branch routes is complex, but it is all covered in more detail on this blog post.) Also right around that time, the route of US 16-83 between Vivian and Draper was changed to follow what is now SD 248. All of that was illustrated on this map (which also showed the old US 16 between those two towns):
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c. 1949, Gousha
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After that happened, the north end of US 183 still should have been at the junction with US 83 near Vivian (in fact, AASHTO's 1989 route log still listed US 183's north terminus at its junction with US 83). However, it appears that in the same way SD unilaterally removed US 183 signage between Murdo and Vivian, they also never signed US 183 between Vivian and Presho. That is the conclusion suggested by these photos, which were taken looking south on US 83:
c. 1957? attribution unknown (linked to source)
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c. 1957? attribution unknown (linked to source)
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Note that the sign in the first photo referenced only US 16 (not US 183), and the sign in the second one did not indicate that US 183 began to the left. So ever since US 83 and 183 were swapped in SD, it appears that US 183's north end has always been in Presho. At the time, US 16 was still on its original alignment through Presho, which was along Willow Street. Here are some scenes from Presho; this photo was looking at the current north beginning, as seen from eastbound I-90:
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Sanderson, Mar. 2004
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(Note that exit is not signed for Presho this direction; there is an exit 225 that eastbound traffic would use.) Approaching that interchange from the south on US 183, an "End" sign was posted:
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Sanderson, Mar. 2004
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Barnes, Dec. 2017
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But prior to the construction of I-90, US 16 was the main east-west road through here, so US 183 ended at its junction with that route, which is barely visible in the distance ahead. Here is a close-up:
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Sanderson, Mar. 2004
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The crossroad is historic US 16 (unmarked SD 248/Business I-90 today). That alignment of US 16 opened in about 1954. Prior to that, US 183 continued about another half-mile ahead, ending at the original alignment of US 16, which was along Willow Street. Not much left to photograph there on the ground level anymore, but an aerial perspective shows that the old "Y" junction where US 183 originally ended has stood the test of time:
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Turning around and looking the opposite direction again (south), the north beginning of US 183 is straight ahead:
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Sanderson, Mar. 2004
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Not far beyond the I-90 underpass shown there one encounters the first southbound confirming marker:
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Sanderson, Mar. 2004
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The mileage sign in the distance read...
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The original south end of US 183 was in Dresden. The route followed what is now US 83 south from Oberlin, then east on CR 340, then south on CR 491, ending in Dresden at what is now KS hwy. 383 (but was formerly US 383, and before that, US 83). This image was taken looking northeast on what is now K-383, but during the '30s this was north on US 83; to the left on CR 491 (or Kings Avenue locally) was the south beginning of US 183:
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Sanderson, Mar. 2018
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This is a photo of the same intersection, but looking north. Today K-123 ends here, and K-383 is the crossroad. But historically the crossroad was designated US 83, and straight ahead was the south beginning of US 183:
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Sanderson, Mar. 2018
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In 1937, US 183 was changed to continue due south out of Oberlin, ending at US 83 near Selden (about seven miles southwest of Dresden):
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c. 1937, KS DoT
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c. 1938, KS DoT
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This photo was looking south on today's US 83; historically this was the south end of US 183. At the time, the crossroad was designated US 83 -- both right (towards Colby) and left (towards Norton):
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Sanderson, Nov. 2001 (click to view 2018 version)
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This shot was looking northeast on US 83. Today that designation turns due north here, and K-383 begins straight ahead...
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Sanderson, Nov. 2001 (click to view 2018 version)
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...but in 1930, US 83 continued straight ahead, and US 183 began to the left.
1939 was the year that US 183 was first extended to Texas; photos and more info on the Junction page. In 1951, US 183 was rerouted and extended still further, to its current southern terminus in Refugio: |
c. 1956, Gousha
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Alternate US 77 is overlapped with US 183 for all but its northernmost 35 miles, and both designations end in Refugio. These photos show the last southbound trailblazer, and the signage posted at the terminus:
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Karners, Jan. 2015
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Karners, Jan. 2015
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The control cites on the sign ahead are Corpus Christi and Victoria. Just beyond there, the road curves left to a T-junction with US 77. These photos were taken looking north on US 77:
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Wiley, Sep. 2000
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Wiley, Sep. 2000
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Karners, Jan. 2015
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US 183 begins to the left, as does Alt. 77. Note the hurricane evacuation route sign; signage from southbound US 77 is similar. If a traveler takes that left turn, they will soon see the first northbound confirming assembly. The sign in the distance gives mileage to Goliad, as well as Beeville (the turnoff for which is about a mile ahead):
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Karners, Jan. 2015
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Research and/or photo credits: Joseph Barnes; Nathan Edgars; Karin and Martin Karner; Jeff Morrison; Dave Pence; Mike Roberson; Dale Sanderson; Michael Summa; Mike Wiley
Page originally created 2001;
last updated Feb. 28, 2024.
last updated Feb. 28, 2024.
