Portal:Arizona/Selected Article/9

U.S. Route 491, US 491, is a north-south United States highway serving the Four Corners region of the United States. One of the newest additions to the U.S. Highway system, it was commissioned in 2003 as a renumbering of U.S. Route 666. With the 666 designation, this road was given the nickname "Devil's Highway" because of the common Christian belief that 666 is the Number of the Beast.These factors led to two efforts to renumber the highway, first by Arizona, later by New Mexico. Since renumbering, done in conjunction with safety improvement projects, fatality rates have gone down.The highway is routed through Colorado, New Mexico and Utah as well as the sovereign Indian tribal nations of the Navajo Nation and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Features along the route include an extinct volcanic core named Shiprock, Mesa Verde National Park and the self proclaimed "pinto bean capital of the world".The route serves the states of New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. Prior to 1992, the highway also entered Arizona. The Arizona portion was renumbered separately and is now part of U.S. Route 191.