U.S. Route 550
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| U.S. Route 550 |
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| Million Dollar Highway | |||||||||||||
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| Length: | 303 mi (488 km) | ||||||||||||
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| Formed: | 1926 | ||||||||||||
| South end: |  I-25/NM 165 at Bernalillo, NM |
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| Major junctions: |
 US 64 in Bloomfield, NM US 160 in Durango, CO |
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| North end: |   US 50/CO 90 at Montrose, CO |
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U.S. Route 550 is a spur of U.S. Highway 50 that runs from Bernalillo, New Mexico to Montrose, Colorado in the western United States. The section from Silverton to Ouray is frequently called the Million Dollar Highway.[1]
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[edit] Route description
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[edit] New Mexico
U.S. 550 begins just north of Albuquerque at Bernalillo and passes through the towns of Cuba, Bloomfield and Aztec. All of Highway 550 in New Mexico has been upgraded to four lanes, offering a high-speed (70 mph) connection for Farmington, New Mexico and Durango, Colorado to Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
[edit] Colorado
Most of U.S. 550 in Colorado is two-lane mountainous highway. It is the only north-south U.S. Highway in Colorado which runs west of the Continental Divide. The route travels north through the San Juan Mountains.
The Million Dollar Highway stretches for about 25 miles in western Colorado and follows the route of U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray, Colorado. It is part of the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway. Between Durango and Silverton the Skyway loosely parallels the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.
Though the entire stretch has been called the Million Dollar Highway, it is really the twelve miles south of Ouray through the Uncompahgre Gorge to the summit of Red Mountain Pass which gains the highway its name. The stretch through the gorge is characterized by steep cliffs and the lack of guardrails, and the ascent of Red Mountain Pass is characterized by the number of hairpin "S" curves used to gain elevation. During this ascent, the remains of the Idarado Mine are visible. Travel north from Silverton to Ouray allows drivers to hug the inside of curves; travel south from Ouray to Silverton perches drivers on the vertiginous outside edge of the highway. Large RVs travel in both directions, which adds a degree of excitement (or danger) to people in cars.[2]
This section of the route passes over three mountain passes:
- Coal Bank Pass, elevation 10,640 ft. (3243 m)
- Molas Pass, elevation 10,970 ft. (3343 m)
- Red Mountain Pass, elevation 11,018 ft. (3358 m)
The origin of the name Million Dollar Highway is disputed. There are several legends of its origin from "it cost a million dollars a mile" to build in the 1920's to it contains "a million dollars" in gold ore in the fill dirt.[1]
U.S. 550 ends at the corner of Townsend Avenue and Main Street in Montrose, Colorado at the junction of its parent route U.S. Highway 50.
[edit] History
The original portion of the Million Dollary Highway was a toll road built by Otto Mears in 1883 to connect Ouray and Ironton.[1] Another toll road was built over Red Mountain Pass from Ironton to Silverton. In the late 1880's Otto Mears turned to building railroads and built the Silverton Railroad north from Silverton over Red Mountain Pass to reach the lucrative mining districts around Red Mountain, terminating at Albany just eight miles south of Ouray. The remaining eight miles were considered too difficult and steep for a railroad. At one point a cog railroad was proposed, but it never made it beyond the planning stage.
In the early 1920's, the original toll road was rebuilt at considerable cost and became the present day US 550. Today the entire route is part of the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway.
Highway 550 was part of the original 1926 federal highway system. The original highway extended 110 miles (177 km) from Montrose, Colorado at U.S. Highway 50 to U.S. Highway 450 (now U.S. Highway 160) at Durango, Colorado. In 1934, Highway 550 was extended through Farminington to Shiprock, New Mexico. In 1989, the western end of Highway 550 was replaced with U.S. Highway 64 between Farmington and Shiprock. In 1999, Highway 550 was rerouted at Aztec, New Mexico to replace New Mexico State Highway 44 to Bernalillo, New Mexico, at which time all of Highway 550 in New Mexico was upgraded to four lanes.
[edit] See also
[edit] Related routes
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Road Trip America - Million Dollar Highway by Mark Sedenquist accessed OCT-21-2007
- ^ The Cultured Traveler-Million Dollary Highway by "Totty" accessed OCT-21-2007
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