Colorado State Highway 14

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

State Highway 14

Length:

236.92 mi^[1] (381.29 km)

West end:

US 40 near Muddy Pass

East end:

US 6 in Sterling

Counties:

Jackson, Larimer, Weld, Logan

Colorado State Highways
< SH 13		SH 15 >

State Highway 14 in the U.S. state of Colorado is an east-west state highway of approximately 237 miles. One of the longest state highways in Colorado, it traverses four counties along the northern edge of the state, spanning a geography from the continental divide in the Rocky Mountains to the Great Plains, and including North Park, the Poudre Canyon, and the Pawnee National Grassland. It provides the most direct route from Fort Collins westward via Cameron Pass to Walden and Steamboat Springs, and eastward across the plains to Sterling. The highway is two-lane along its entire route, except for portions near Fort Collins where it is coterminous with U.S. Highway 287, and east of Fort Collins near its interchange with Interstate 25.

The western terminus of the highway is at a junction with U.S. Highway 40 at the summit of Muddy Pass along the border between Jackson and Grand counties. The eastern terminus is at a junction with U.S. Highway 6 in Sterling.

[edit] Route description

SH 14, here concurrent with US 287, north of Bellvue at Teds Place. Goat Hill near Bellvue can be seen in the background.

Going eastward from Muddy Pass southeast of Steamboat Springs, it transverses North Park, first going northeast to Walden, then southeast through Gould along the valley of the Michigan River. It transverses the southern end of the Medicine Bow Mountains at Cameron Pass, where it enters Larimer County. It descends the pass to the northwest along the valley of Joe Wright Creek to Chambers Lake, then descends though the mountains along the valley of the Cache la Poudre River, passing through the Poudre Canyon. It joins U.S. Highway 287 southbound at Teds Place, a longtime local landmark just east of the mouth of the Poudre Canyon. It is coterminous with U.S. Highway 287 southward to Fort Collins, where it splits from 287, going east from downtown Fort Collins along East Mulberry Avenue and reaching Interstate 25 at exit 269. East of the Interstate, it enters Weld County and passes through Ault, where it intersects U.S. Highway 85. East of Ault, it enters a sparsely populated area of the high plains in eastern Weld County, where it passes through three small hamlets, Briggsdale, New Raymer, and Stoneham. Along this stretch it passes alongside several parcels of the Pawnee National Grasslands. Its eastern terminus at Sterling is in central Logan County, along the South Platte River, just across the river from Interstate 76.

The section of the road in Fort Collins that is coterminous with Jefferson Street and Riverside Avenue follows a section of the Overland Trail, a stage route in the 1860s. The section in Fort Collins was known as the "Denver Road". The section up the Poudre Canyon was built in the 1920s.

[edit] Major intersections

SH 14 crossing the Colorado plains in rural Weld County, near the Pawnee National Grassland.

Source: Segment List for SH 14

Milepost	City	Junction
0	Muddy Pass	U.S. Highway 40 Terminus
32.968	Walden	State Highway 125 Begin concurrency
34.090	Walden	State Highway 125 End concurrency
121.689	Teds Place	U.S. Highway 287 Begin concurrency
134.726	Fort Collins	U.S. Highway 287 End concurrency
138.968	Fort Collins	Interstate 25
144.152	near Severance	State Highway 257
153.370	Ault	U.S. Highway 85
205.236	Raymer	State Highway 52