Highway 59 (MT 59) is a 195.389-mile (314.448 km) state highway in Montana, United States, that connects Wyoming Highway 59 (WYO 59) in Wyoming with Montana Highway 200 (MT 200) near the south end of the town of Jordan. WYO 59 continues south 57 miles (92 km) to the city of Gillette. The landscape traversed by MT 59 is mostly hilly and arid, largely used for open-range grazing; the only major commercial areas are the towns of Broadus and Miles City.
For approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) in and near Broadus, MT 59 is concurrent with U.S. Route 212 (US 212).
Route description
MT 59 continues as Fence Creek Road from the Wyoming state line across the desert for several miles before travelling concurrently with US 212 north. The highway enters the town of Broadus as Park Avenue heading north, and turns onto Holt Street, leaving the town headed west. Passing by the Broadus Airport and the Rolling Hills Golf Course, MT 59 splits off from US 212 and continues northwest and then north through Olive and through meadows. Several miles later, MT 59 travels through Volborg before entering Miles City and has an interchange with Interstate 94 (I-94) on Haynes Avenue. The route turns west on Main Street, briefly travelling concurrently with I-94 Business (I-94 Bus.) before turning northwest on North 7th Street and crossing the Yellowstone River. MT 59 intersects Montana Secondary Highway 489 (S-489) across from the Miles City Airport before continuing through the plains of eastern Montana. The highway travels through Angela and Cohagen before ending at MT 200 in Jordan.[2]
History
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The current MT 59 is an amalgamation of three roadway segments, each formerly numbered separately. The highway south of Broadus was originally designated as S-319.[citation needed] From Broadus to Miles City, the highway was U.S. Route 312 (US 312) until 1979,[3] and MT 59 north of Miles City was originally MT 22.[citation needed] Although US 312 continued west from Miles City to Billings, this was a concurrency with US 10 (and later I-90), and only the part between Miles City and Broadus was independent.[4] However, from 1959 to 1962, US 312 extended west to Yellowstone National Park, and its east end was at US 12 in Forsyth. In 1962, US 212, which had ended in Miles City, was rerouted to absorb former US 312 southwest of Billings, and US 312 was extended southeast to Broadus over former US 212.[5]
^The Official Montana 1978 Highway Map(PDF) (Map). 1 inch = approx. 22 miles. Cartography by H.M. Gousha Company. Helena: Montana Department of Transportation. 1978. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
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