U.S. Route 491

U.S. Route 491
Map of the Four Corners area with US 491 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 91
Maintained by NMDOT, CDOT, UDOT
Length	193.930 mi[1] (312.100 km)
History	1926–2003 as US 666 2003–present as US 491[2]
Tourist routes	Trails of the Ancients Byway
Major junctions
South end	I-40 / NM 602 in Gallup, NM
Major intersections	US 64 in Shiprock, NM US 160 in Cortez, CO
North end	US 191 in Monticello, UT
Location
Country	United States
States	New Mexico, Colorado, Utah
Counties	NM: McKinley, San Juan CO: Montezuma, Dolores UT: San Juan
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided
← SR-320 UT → US 6 ← E-470 CO → US 550 ← NM 485 NM → NM 494

U.S. Route 491 (US 491) is a north–south U.S. Highway serving the Four Corners region of the United States. It was created in 2003 as a renumbering of U.S. Route 666 (US 666). With the US 666 designation, the road was nicknamed the "Devil's Highway" because of the significance of the number 666 to many Christian denominations as the Number of the Beast.^[2] This Satanic connotation, combined with a high fatality rate along the New Mexico portion, convinced some people the highway was cursed. The problem was compounded by persistent sign theft. These factors led to two efforts to renumber the highway, first by officials in Arizona, then by those in New Mexico. There have been safety improvement projects in recent years, and fatality rates have subsequently decreased.^[3]

The highway, now a spur route of US 91 via its connection to US 191, runs through New Mexico, Colorado and Utah, as well as the tribal nations of the Navajo Nation and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. The highway passes by two mountains considered sacred by Native Americans: Ute Mountain and an extinct volcanic core named Shiprock. Other features along the route include Mesa Verde National Park and Dove Creek, Colorado, the self-proclaimed pinto-bean capital of the world.