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100 years of US routes: 1926-2026
Endpoints of
Historically, the highway scene was quite different in the Black Hills region. When the US routes were first implemented, US 14 did not go that far west. And US 16 did not go through the Hills like it does now; instead, it followed the route of today's US 14/I-90 around the northern edge of the Hills. So in 1930, US 216 was designated to serve as a shortcut between US 16 at Moorcroft and US 85 at Newcastle:
c. 1930, WY DoT
Moorcroft
This photo was taken looking eastbound on US 14-16 in Moorcroft, where the two routes split. But formerly this was only US 16, and eastbound continued to the left. Straight ahead was the west beginning of US 216:
Sanderson, Mar. 2004
Heading the opposite direction, westbound US 16 continued to the right (as it still does), but to the left was eastbound on US 216:
Sanderson, Mar. 2004
This shot shows the perspective from the west end of US 216. West on US 16 was ahead, but east on US 16 was right:
Sanderson, Mar. 2004
Newcastle
Originally the east end of US 85 was in Newcastle. Today the equivalent junction there is where eastbound US 16 junctions US 85:
Sanderson, Mar. 2004
But back when US 216 existed, that portion of the highway had not been built, and that segment of US 85 is a newer road too. Originally US 85 came into town from the south via Summit Avenue. At Wentworth Street, it turned right to climb out of town, and US 216 began by continuing straight ahead on Summit:
Sanderson, Mar. 2004
That was looking north on Summit at Wentworth. Northbound US 85 went right there, and US 216 began ahead. Today Summit is officially Business 16, although some signs made it look like it was still the mainline. Here is another view of the intersection where US 216 ended:
Sanderson, Mar. 2004
That was taken looking southbound on Summit. US 216 ended there; northbound US 85 was left, and southbound was straight ahead. Here, we are looking south on Wentworth, or old southbound US 85, which continued to the left, while right was the east beginning of US 216:
Sanderson, Mar. 2004
In 1933 the US 216 designation was extended east from Newcastle, via what is now US 16 through Custer SD. East of there it continued via modern Alt. US 16 and SD hwy. 36 to Hermosa; then north via SD 79 to Rapid City. But that lasted for only about a year; see the Rapid City page for more details.
Research and/or image credits: Dale Sanderson; Michael Summa
Page originally created 2004;last updated Jul. 26, 2025.
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