The highway serves no major population centers in Utah, with the largest city along its path being Delta.

The route between these cities has become progressively shorter as new roads have been paved through this largely uninhabited region of both states.

The earlier routings were a result of a dispute between Utah and Nevada over which auto trails would be paved and converted to U.S.

The highway enters Utah from Nevada in a desolate portion of the Great Basin Desert.

There are no services between the state line and the small farming village of Hinckley, just outside of Delta, a span of roadway that is about 100 miles (160 km).

The three routes run concurrent and follow the southern edge of the Book Cliffs to Grand Junction, Colorado.

[8] At the time the states of Utah and Nevada were feuding about which of the old auto trails would be paved and used for the new U.S. Highway System.

Officials perceived that route would carry all California bound traffic directly to Nevada while passing through very few communities in Utah.

The Arrowhead trail was especially beneficial to Utah as it passed through many communities in the state, but only Las Vegas in Nevada.

[9] Utah prevailed and US-50 did not continue to follow the Lincoln Highway to Salt Lake City as Nevada had wanted.

Once paved, the route was relocated to follow the north shore of Sevier Lake, which reduced the number of mountain ranges crossed.

Utah supported an extension using then US-6/50 to connect Denver, Colorado with Salt Lake City.

[18] East of Green River I-70 closely follows the original route of US-50, with some minor straightening by Crescent Junction, Cisco, and Westwater.