State Route 7 (SR-7), also known as Southern Parkway, is a 26.1-mile (42.0 km) east-west state highway in southern Washington County in the extreme southwestern portion of the US state of Utah. It connects the southern periphery of St. George with Hurricane, while providing access to the St. George Regional Airport.[4]

State Route 7 marker
State Route 7
Southern Parkway
Map
SR-7 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by UDOT
Length26.1 mi[1][2] (42.0 km)
Existed2009[3]–present
Major junctions
West end I-15 in St George
East end SR-9 in Hurricane
Location
CountryUnited States
StateUtah
CountiesWashington
Highway system
  • Utah State Highway System
US 6 SR-8

Route description

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East on Utah State Route 7 from its western terminus, January 2014.

State Route 7 starts at its intersection with I-15 in southwest St. George. From here it travels southeast for about 3 miles (4.8 km) to immediately north of the Utah-Arizona border, then turning east and paralleling the border. Past interchanges at Desert Color Parkway and River Road, the road turns north-northeast and continues for 15 miles (24.1 km), passing Airport Parkway (which accesses the St. George Regional Airport) and Long Valley Road[5] until reaching Sand Hollow Road, having an interchange with the road immediately southwest of Sand Hollow State Park. From this point onwards, State Route 7 continues east for an additional 8 miles (12.9 km), following the southern boundary of Sand Hollow State Park before gradually curving north and ending at an intersection with State Route 9 just west of downtown Hurricane.

The entire route is included in the National Highway System.[6]

History

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Since the 1977 Utah state route renumbering, no route in Utah had been designated as State Route 7, until 2009 when the Utah State Legislature added the Southern Parkway from Pioneer Road to River Road to the state highway system.[3]

The first portion of the freeway opened July 7, 2009, a link between Exit 2 at I-15 south of Bloomington (a suburb within the city of St. George) to River Road in south St. George spanning 4 miles (6.4 km).[7] The second portion was completed in November 2010, extending further east to the new St. George Regional Airport. The third and final segment of State Route 7 between Sand Hollow Road and State Route 9 would finally open to traffic on May 20, 2021.[8] The highway began as a mostly two-lane highway with at-grade intersections, envisioned to eventually be converted to a four-lane divided freeway. [9] The majority of these intersections have been updated to the planned interchanges.

Major intersections

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The entire route is in Washington County.

Locationmi[1][2]kmExitDestinationsNotes
St. George0.0000.000  I-15 – Las Vegas, Salt Lake CityWestern terminus; Southern Parkway continues as Sun River Parkway; I-15 exit 2
0.4440.7151Desert Color ParkwayFormerly Astragalus Drive
3.2515.2323River Road
5.9119.5136Desert Canyons ParkwayEast end of freeway section; west end of Super Two
7.08211.3977Airport Parkway
Washington10.38516.71310Warner Valley RoadConnection to Washington Fields Road
12George Washington BoulevardUnder construction[10]
14.72023.69015Long Valley RoadConnection to Washington Dam Road
18.29929.44918Sand Hollow Road
193200 West [11]Eastbound exit and entrance only
Hurricane22.936.9223000 South
26.142.0  SR-9 – HurricaneInterchange; eastern terminus; Southern Parkway continues north
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Highway Reference Online - SR-7". maps.udot.utah.gov. Utah Department of Transportation. April 5, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Overview Map of SR-7" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "State Road Resolutions SR-7.pdf". Utah Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  4. ^ "UDOT to Open First Segment of State's Newest Highway". Utah Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
  5. ^ "Southern Parkway Project map". Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  6. ^ "Utah National Highway System". Utah Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  7. ^ "Public Works Capital projects". City of St. George Department of Public Works. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
  8. ^ "'Today's a great day': Officials, community members celebrate completion of Southern Parkway". Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  9. ^ "Traffic and transportation information exchange - Southern Parkway". City of St. George. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
  10. ^ Workman, Katie (January 13, 2024). "PGA Tour, REI and lots of construction: What's coming to southern Utah". KSL.com. Deseret Digital Media. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  11. ^ "Utah Roads.zip". utah.gov. Utah DOT. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
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