Interstate 25 in Colorado

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Interstate 25
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Maintained by Colorado Department of Transportation
Length: 301.181 mi[1] (484.704 km)
South end: I-25 at New Mexico state line
Major
junctions:		 US 50 in Pueblo
US 24 in Colorado Springs
US 40 in Denver
I-70 in Denver
I-76 near Denver
US 6 near Denver
US 34 near Loveland
North end: I-25 at Wyoming state line
Colorado State Highways
< US 24 SH 26 >

In the U.S. state of Colorado, Interstate 25 follows the north-south corridor through Colorado Springs and Denver. It replaced U.S. Highway 87 and most of U.S. Highway 85 for through traffic.

Historical nicknames for this route have included the Valley Highway (through Denver), Monument Valley Highway (through Colorado Springs), and the Pueblo Freeway (through Pueblo). Within El Paso County, the route has been dedicated as the Ronald Reagan Highway.[2][3]

Interstate 25 is also considered to be part of the unofficial Pan-American Highway.[4]

Contents

[edit] Route description

[edit] New Mexico state line to Pueblo

I-25 swerves near the east side of Trinidad Lake State Park.
I-25 swerves near the east side of Trinidad Lake State Park.

Following the Santa Fe Trail from New Mexico, Interstate 25 enters Colorado as a typical two-lane Interstate highway, where its entire route in Colorado lies close to the east side of the Rocky Mountains. The route turns from north to west-northwest as I-25 serves Wootton. After leaving Wootton, I-25 turns back up north and bypasses near the east side of the Trinidad Lake State Park, home of the Trinidad Lake.

Trinidad, a city near the Trinidad Lake, is the first major city that lies along I-25. For the next 30 miles, I-25 continues north through the rural areas of Colorado until it reaches the small city of Walsenburg, where the business route - I-25 Bus. - junctions with U.S. Highway 160. I-25 then continues in a north-northwest direction until it bypasses the Orlando Reservoir, then turns north from there until it reaches Colorado City. In Colorado City, I-25 interchanges with the east end of the Frontier Pathways Scenic and Historic Byway (SH 165) at exit 74.

After leaving the city, I-25 follows in a north-northeast orientation until it reaches the St. Charles Reservoir just before entering the city of Pueblo, with the first exit within the southern city limits of Pueblo at exit 94.[5] The Arkansas River in Pueblo serves as a feeder to the Pueblo Lake State Park, home of the Pueblo Lake, which is located to the west of the western city limits of Pueblo.[6]

[edit] Pueblo to Denver

After leaving Pueblo, I-25 continues up north with the Southern Pacific Railroad paralleling closely to the route on the right side after interchanging with Porter Draw at exit 106. By exit 119, the Fountain Creek joins along and travels parallel with I-25, and continues all the way to the Fountain Creek National Park in Pueblo. I-25 gradually turns from a general north direction to the north-northwest and serves the census-designated place of Buttes at exit 122.

Cheyenne Mountain, as seen from I-25 near Fort Carson. Note the communications antennas at the summit, which are used by NORAD.
Cheyenne Mountain, as seen from I-25 near Fort Carson. Note the communications antennas at the summit, which are used by NORAD.

As soon as US 85 leaves I-25 at exit 128, I-25 enters the city limits of Fountain. Basically, I-25 serves as the border between the western city limits of Fountain on the east side of I-25 and Fort Carson on the west side. Exit 132 (SH 16) serves the north side of the Fountain Creek National Park as well as the entrance to Fort Morgan. At exit 135, Academy Boulevard serves Pikes Peak Community College's Centennial campus. By the time I-25 reaches exit 138, the route enters the city limits of Colorado Springs, where the interchange with US 24 at exit 139 serves the Evergreen Cemetery and Prospect Lake. I-25 turns west at exit 140, along with the Fountain Creek, where it interchanges with US 85, US 87, and I-25 Bus. I-25 again turns back north again by exit 141. Exit 142 serves downtown Colorado Springs,[5] and to the north of the city lies the Colorado College, and is served at exit 143 - Unitah Street. After leaving Colorado Springs, I-25 enters the United States Air Force Academy from exits 150 to 156, and goes through the east side of the territory.

I-25 leaves El Paso County and enters Douglas County at the county line at exit 143. I-25 then continues north through more urban areas east of the Rocky Mountains until reaching Castle Rock at exit 181. I-25 continues through a variety of suburban communities until interchanging with E-470, the partial beltway of Denver as the toll road serves the Centennial Airport and the much larger Denver International Airport.

After entering Arapahoe County, I-25 interchanges with I-225, a spur that detours motorists to I-70, at exit 200. I-25, then goes around in a general northwest direction before interchanging with US 6 at exit 209. Then I-25 curves around the west side of downtown Denver,[5] where it can be accessed by I-70 Bus. at exit 210.[5] I-25 then interchanges with I-70 at exit 213 right before leaving the City and County of Denver. [6]

[edit] Denver to Wyoming state line

As I-25 leaves Denver, the route continues up north and interchanges with I-76, I-270, and the Denver-Boulder Turnpike (US 36). Due to the complexity of this triangle-shaped interchange, it was known to be one of many malfunction junctions throughout the United States. Beyond that interchange and exit 220, I-25 slips its way through a narrow path between the Badding Reservoir (west side) and the Croke Lake (east side).

At exit 228, I-25 interchanges with the northern termini of E-470 and Northwest Parkway at a stack interchange, with the Larkridge Mall just to the north, served by 160th Avenue (SH 7). As I-25 continues north, it passes through a medley of lakes and reservoirs to the east and north of Fort Collins.[5] Afterwards, the interstate gradually makes a north-northeast turn as it heads for the Wyoming state line.[6]

[edit] History

[edit] Ancestors and early freeways

Colorado had begun planning of a modern inter-city route along the Front Range as early as 1944, well before the national movement toward an Interstate Highway system.

State Highway 1, an unpaved road, was completed between Denver and Pueblo by 1919. Average travel time between Pueblo and Colorado Springs on this route was approximately 2.5 hours (or a full 8.5 hours from Pueblo to Denver). This route was upgraded with the help of the federal government to become US 85 and US 87 by 1930, now paved in concrete and shortening the travel time between Pueblo and Colorado Springs to just one hour.

The cities of Denver (in 1948) and Pueblo (in 1949) were first to begin building multi-lane highway segments along the route of what would eventually become Interstate 25. Denver's segment was originally known as the Valley Highway and was completed by 1958. The city of Colorado Springs followed a similar theme with their Monument Valley Freeway, begun in 1955 and completed by July of 1960. Pueblo's section - the Pueblo Freeway - was complete by July of 1959.[7]

[edit] Interstate completion

As the national Interstate Highway System began to take shape, actual "inter-state" connections began to be made. Wyoming came first in 1964, building a 9-mile link north to Cheyenne that was connected to Colorado's 17-mile stretch.

Linking to New Mexico in the south would prove more problematic as the planned route had to stretch over Raton Pass, and its accompanying 1800-foot elevation change, within just 13 miles. Once again, US 85 and US 87 were used, but it had to be re-graded in places to meet Interstate design guidelines. Construction began in 1960, with a link to the city of Trinidad completed by 1963. The Trinidad Segment (as CDOT now calls the Raton Pass span) was not fully completed until 1968.

The final segment of the Colorado portion of Interstate 25, connecting the cities of Walsenburg and Trinidad, was completed during 1969. This meant that four lanes of high-speed, nonstop freeway were finally open for a total of 299 miles from New Mexico north to Wyoming.[8][9]

[edit] Modern expansion

As both population and traffic increased in Colorado during the 1990s and 2000s, the Colorado Department of Transportation has planned and completed major improvements for the city corridors along I-25.

[edit] T-REX (Denver)

T-REX Logo
T-REX Logo

The first of these was Transportation Expansion (T-REX), which widened and expanded nearly 17 miles of both I-25 and the I-225 bypass in the Denver Metro area as well as adding various pedestrian and aesthetic improvements. T-REX was also instrumental in expanding Denver's RTD light rail lines to connect outlying communities beyond the city and county of Denver, adding 19 miles of new routes.[10][11]

The T-REX project was completed during 2006 at a cost of US$1.67 billion, under its projected budget and two years ahead of its originally scheduled conclusion. It has been hailed as a "model for other cities to follow" and "ahead of the curve nationally" by federal transportation and transit authorities.[12]

[edit] COSMIX (Colorado Springs)

COSMIX Logo
COSMIX Logo

As T-REX began to wrap up, CDOT's next major effort began with Colorado Springs Metro Interstate Expansion (COSMIX). It could be argued that COSMIX was even more important to Colorado's interests than T-REX had been, since the Colorado Springs corridor of I-25 had seen immense growth over the past four decades. Originally carrying around 8500 vehicles per day in 1960, usage of the former Monument Valley Freeway had grown to an average of 100,000 vehicles per day by 2005.[13]

The major goals of COSMIX, which began in 2005 and was completed during December of 2007, were a general expansion and widening of the corridor to three lanes in each direction throughout the city, as well as the reconstruction of two main interchanges (at Bijou Street near downtown Colorado Springs, and at Rockrimmon Boulevard and North Nevada Avenue in the city's growing north side).[14]

Though CDOT's role in COSMIX is complete, the City of Colorado Springs is continuing its own independent project to rebuild the Cimarron Street (US 24) bridge and interchange. This work is scheduled to be partially complete (allowing limited traffic) by May of 2008, with full completion scheduled for August 2008.[15]

[edit] Future

Since 2006, the Colorado Department of Transportation has begun work toward expanding the I-25 corridor between Colorado Springs and Denver, as well as the corridor between Denver and the city of Fort Collins (the "North Forty" project, in reference to the 40 miles of highway north of Denver that are affected). In both cases, growth of suburbs and smaller communities (such as Castle Rock and Longmont) have necessitated expansion much like that of T-REX or COSMIX (though on a less ambitious scale).[16][17]

Reconstruction of the aging Trinidad Segment is also underway, aimed mainly at rebuilding bridges and upgrading the highway to modern Interstate design standards. Construction began with demolition and reconstruction of the bridges during 2007, and the remaining viaduct reconstruction is scheduled to be completed during 2009.[18]

A New Pueblo Freeway project is in the planning stages. Currently, the draft includes an expansion to six lanes (three each direction), numerous interchange improvements, and enhancements to pedestrian routes and public parks along the corridor. Public review of the final plan is scheduled for the Fall of 2008.[19]

[edit] Exit list

County Location Mile[1] # Destinations Notes
Las Animas 2.134 2 Wootton
5.597 6 Gallinas
7.529 8 Springcreek
11.013 11 Santa Fe Trail – Starkville
Trinidad 13.000 13A Santa Fe Trail
13.311 13B Main Street (SH 12 west)
13.606 14A SH 12 west – Cuchara, La Veta Removed (now signed via exit 13B)
13.606 14B I-25 Bus. – Trinidad
14.859 15 US 160 east (Kit Carson Trail) South end of US 160 overlap
17.728 18 El Moro Road
22.906 23 Hoehne Road
26.858 27 Ludlow
30.464 30 Aguilar Road
34.090 34 Aguilar (I-25 Bus. west)
Huerfano 40.485 41 Rugby Road
41.930 42 Pryor
Walsenburg 49.000 49 I-25 Bus. north to US 160 west – Walsenburg, Alamosa
50.054 50 SH 10 east (US 160 west) – La Junta North end of US 160 overlap
52.321 52 I-25 Bus. south / SH 69 west to US 160 west – Gardner, Westcliffe, Walsenburg, Alamosa
55.000 55 Airport Road
56.000 56 Redrock Road
58.727 59 Butte Road
60.084 60 Huerfano
64.046 64 Lascar Road
66.749 67 Apache
Pueblo 71.264 71 Graneros Road
74.367 74 SH 165 west – San Isabel, Colorado City, Rye
77.267 77 Abbey Road, Hatchet Ranch Road
83.461 83 (unnamed road)
86.938 87 Verde Road
87.921 88 Burnt Mill Road
90.625 91 Stem Beach
Pueblo 94.769 94 SH 45 north (Pueblo Boulevard)
95.901 96 Minnequa Avenue, Indiana Avenue
96.673 97A Central Avenue
97.447 97B Abriendo Avenue
97.691 98A
US 50 Bus. east – La Junta
98.545 98B To SH 96 / 1st Street
98.806 99A To SH 96 / 6th Street Southbound exit and northbound entrance
99.334 99B 13th Street, Santa Fe Avenue
99.950 100A US 50 east – La Junta, Pueblo Memorial Airport South end of US 50 overlap
100.681 100B 29th Street
101.389 101 US 50 west (SH 47 east) – Canon City, Royal Gorge North end of US 50 overlap
102.160 102 Eagleridge Boulevard
103.896 104 Eden
106.075 106 Porter Draw
108.000 108 Purcell Boulevard – Pueblo West
110.238 110 Pinon
114.000 114 Young Hollow
115.831 116 County Line Road
El Paso 118.843 119 Rancho Colorado Boulevard
Fountain 121.459 122 Pikes Peak International Raceway
123.189 123 (unnamed road)
124.564 125 Ray Nixon Road
Fountain 127.860 128 US 85 north – Fountain North end of US 85 overlap
131.653 132 SH 16 – Fort Carson, Fountain
135.262 135 SH 83 (Academy Boulevard)
Colorado Springs 137.752 138 SH 29 (Circle Drive)
138.742 139 US 24 east (Martin Luther King Jr. bypass) – Colorado Springs Airport, Limon South end of US 24 overlap
139.747-
139.869		 140 I-25 Bus. north / US 85 (Nevada Avenue) to SH 115 south / Tejon Street
141.139 141 US 24 west (Cimarron Street) North end of US 24 overlap
141.849 142 Bijou Street – Downtown Colorado Springs
142.832 143 Uintah Street
143.520 144 Fontanero Street
144.622 145 SH 38 east (Fillmore Street)
146.074 146 Garden of the Gods Road
147.046 147 Rockrimmon Boulevard
147.570 148A I-25 Bus. south (Nevada Avenue, US 85 south) South end of US 85 overlap; no southbound entrance
148B Corporate Centre Drive Southbound exit and entrance
148.830 149 Woodmen Road
150.303 150 To SH 83 / Academy Boulevard
151.660 151 Briargate Parkway
152.899 153 Interquest Parkway
155.930 156A Gleneagle Drive
155.930 156B North Entrance Air Force Academy
158.199 158 Baptist Road
160.763 161 SH 105 – Palmer Lake, Monument
163.321 163 County Line Road – Palmer Lake
Douglas
167.464 167 Greenland
171.820 172 Upper Lake Gulch Road
172.307 173 Larkspur Southbound exit and northbound entrance
173.791 174 Tomah Road
Castle Rock 180.808 181 Wilcox Street, Plum Creek Parkway
181.853 182 Wilcox Street, Wolfensberger Road
184.212 184 US 85 north (Meadows Parkway) / Founders Parkway North end of US 85 overlap
186.935 187 Happy Canyon Road
188.486 188 Castle Pines Parkway
189.756 190 Surrey Ridge
Lone Tree 191.412 191 (unnamed road)
192.990 193 Lincoln Avenue
194.314 194 SH 470 west / E-470 east – Grand Junction, Limon
195.130 195 County Line Road
Arapahoe Centennial
196.141 196 Dry Creek Road
Greenwood Village 197.188 197 SH 88 east (Arapahoe Road) South end of SH 88 overlap
198.292 198 Orchard Road
199.384 199 SH 88 west (Belleview Avenue) North end of SH 88 overlap
Denver 200.093 200 I-225 north to I-70 – Limon, Aurora
201.578 201 US 285 / SH 30 (Hampden Avenue)
202.640 202 Yale Avenue
203.537 203 Evans Avenue
204.037 204 SH 2 (Colorado Boulevard)
205.057 205 University Boulevard
205.919 206 Downing Street Northbound exit and southbound entrance
206.149-
206.341		 206 Washington Street, Emerson Street Southbound exit and northbound entrance
206.968 207A Lincoln Street, Broadway
207.488 207B US 85 south (Santa Fe Drive) South end of US 85 overlap
207.641-
207.990		 208 SH 26 (Alameda Avenue) Northbound exit is via exit 207B
209.210 209A 6th Avenue east
209.210 209B US 6 west (6th Avenue) – Lakewood South end of US 6 overlap
209.479 209C 8th Avenue
210.310 210A US 40 (Colfax Avenue, I-70 Bus./US 287) – Downtown Denver
210.415 210C SH 33 (Auraria Parkway) Northbound exit and southbound entrance
210.532 210B 17th Avenue Southbound exit (to 20th Avenue) is via exit 211
211.109 211 23rd Avenue
211.464 212 Speer Boulevard – Downtown Denver Signed as exits 212A (south) and 212B (north)
212.096 212C 20th Street
212.769 213 Park Avenue, West 38th Avenue
213.625-
213.739		 214A I-70 (US 6 east/US 85 north) – Limon, Grand Junction North end of US 6 / US 85 overlap
213.964 214B 48th Avenue Southbound exit only
Adams 215.244 215 58th Avenue (SR 53)
216.301-
216.397		 216 I-76 – Grand Junction, Fort Morgan, Aurora Signed as exits 216A (east) and 216B (west)
216.779 216B 70th Avenue (SH 224) Northbound exit and southbound entrance
217.006 217A US 36 west – Westminster, Boulder Signed as exit 217 northbound
217.006 217B I-270 east – Limon, Aurora Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Thornton 218.463 219 84th Avenue – Federal Heights
219.815 220 Thornton Parkway
Northglenn 221.027 221 104th Avenue – Northglenn Former SH 44
223.049 223 SH 128 west (120th Avenue)
Thornton, Westminster
225.000 225 136th Avenue
226.085 226 144th Avenue
Adams, Broomfield Broomfield, Thornton 227.745 228 E-470 / Northwest Parkway – Limon, Broomfield
229.107 229 SH 7 – Lafayette, Brighton
Broomfield Broomfield
232.094 232 Dacono, Erie
Weld Dacono, Erie
235.114 235 SH 52 – Dacono, Frederick, Fort Lupton
Dacono, Frederick
240.114 240 SH 119 west – Firestone, Longmont
Mead 243.148 243 SH 66 – Longmont, Lyons
245.217 245 Mead
Johnstown 250.241 250 SH 56 west – Berthoud
252.261 252 SH 60 east – Johnstown, Milliken
Larimer 254.216 254 To SH 60 west – Campion Exit ramps only
255.272 255 SH 402 west – Loveland
257.305 257 US 34 – Greeley, Loveland Signed as exits 257A (east) and 257B (west)
Loveland 259.309 259 Crossroads Boulevard Fort Collins-Loveland Airport
262.298 262 SH 392 east – Windsor
265.314 265 SH 68 west (Harmony Road)
Fort Collins 268.475 268 Prospect Road
269.370 269 SH 14 – Ault, Fort Collins Signed as exits 269A (east) and 269B (west)
Fort Collins 271.373 271 Mountain Vista Drive
277.884 278 SH 1 south – Wellington
281.338 281 Owl Canyon Road
287.550 288 Buckeye Road
Weld 292.583 293 Carr

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Colorado Department of Transportation, Highway Data, accessed October 2007: note that not every interval between mileposts is exactly a mile, explaining why more exits than expected are at the exact milepost
  2. ^ Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Library
  3. ^ Interstate 25
  4. ^ Sierra County Economic Development Organization. Transportation and Highways. Retrieved on February 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d e Rand McNally. The Road Atlas [map]. (2006) Page 32.
  6. ^ a b c Google Maps street maps and USGS topographic maps, accessed February 2008 via ACME Mapper
  7. ^ Interstate 25
  8. ^ Interstate 25
  9. ^ Kuennen, Tom, ed. Interstate 50: 50 Years of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. 2006: Faircount. pp 118-119. ISBN unavailable.
  10. ^ Kuennen, Tom, ed. Interstate 50: 50 Years of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. 2006: Faircount. pp 118-119. ISBN unavailable.
  11. ^ Metro Denver's multi-modal T-REX takes last step - Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation
  12. ^ Metro Denver's multi-modal T-REX takes last step - Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation
  13. ^ Kuennen, Tom, ed. Interstate 50: 50 Years of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. 2006: Faircount. pp 118-119. ISBN unavailable.
  14. ^ Progress of Project
  15. ^ Pikes Peak Transportation
  16. ^ CDOT | The North Forty | About
  17. ^ Kuennen, Tom, ed. Interstate 50: 50 Years of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. 2006: Faircount. pp 118-119. ISBN unavailable.
  18. ^ I-25 Trinidad under construction - Home
  19. ^ The New Pueblo Freeway

[edit] External links


Interstate 25
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New Mexico		 Colorado Next state:
Wyoming