State Route 16 in Colorado

State Route 15, 150 and 16 in Colorado

State Route 15 in Colorado

SH 15
Get started Monte Vista
End La Jara
Length 23 mi
Length 37 km
Route
  • Monte Vista
  • capulin
  • La Jara

State Route 15, commonly known as State Highway 15 or SH 15 is a state route in the U.S. state of Colorado. The road connects in the south of the state, between Monte Vista and La Jara. SH 15 is 37 kilometers long.

Travel directions

SH 15 begins in Monte Vista, the main point on the route, where it intersects US 160 and US 285. Viewed from the north, SH 15 is an extension of US 285 and heads south through a flat area of ​​irrigated agriculture. The road runs due south for 12 miles and ends at the Conejos County border. From here an unmade county road continues to Capulin. From Capulin, SH 15 begins again, heading due east, to rejoin US 285 at La Jara.

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History

The original SH 15 from the early 1920s was a fairly long north-south route from La Jara via Monte Vista to Buena Vista. Most of it was replaced in 1936 by US 285. However, it was decided to lead US 285 between Monte Vista and La Jara via Alamosa, so that this regional city was also connected with a north-south US Highway. SH 15 was completely paved in 1957. In 1968, the section of SH 15 that was double-numbered with US 285 was scrapped, leaving an insignificant section between Monte Vista and La Jara. The missing part in Conejos County is a dirt county road. Partly because of this, SH 15 has no importance for through traffic.

Traffic intensities

1,200 vehicles drive daily at Monte Vista, dropping to 200 vehicles on the Conejos County border. The east-west section to La Jara has 1,500 vehicles per day.

State Route 150 in Colorado

SR-150
Get started Blanca
End Great Sand Dunes NP
Length 16 mi
Length 26 km
Route
Great Sand Dunes National Park

State Route 150, commonly known as State Highway 150 or SH 150 is a state route in the U.S. state of Colorado. The road forms a north-south link in the central south of the state, from US 160 west of Blanca to Great Sand Dunes National Park. SH 150 is 26 kilometers long.

Travel directions

The SH 150 with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

SH 150 begins 10 miles northwest of the village of Blanca at an intersection with US 160. The road heads north through the east side of the very wide valley of the Rio Grande. Directly to the east are the Sangre de Cristo Mountains with peaks of more than 4,300 meters. SH 150 itself runs at an altitude of 2,300 meters. There are no places on the route, the road ends at Great Sand Dunes National Park.

History

The current north-south route was numbered SH 156 in the 1920s. This route was scrapped in 1939.

The original SH 150 from the 1920s and was originally an east-west route in the same area as today’s SH 150. The road originally ran from Mosca to Gardner, past the Great Sand Dunes National Park and through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains over the 3,000 meter high Mosca Pass. This pass road could not be used in practice, even today it is only a hiking trail unsuitable for vehicles.

In 1954, SH 150 was completely scrapped as a state highway, and no state highway ran to Great Sand Dunes National Park (then National Monument). In 1960, SH 150 became a state highway again and then only ran over the western part of Mosca to the national park. This was then still a gravel road that was paved in 1963.

In 1973, the original SH 150 was scrapped, after which the current SH 150 was assigned to the north-south route from US 160 to Great Sand Dunes National Park. Originally a National Monument, the Great Sand Dunes was granted National Park status in 2004.

Traffic intensities

Every day 700 to 800 vehicles use SH 150, mainly tourists to the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

State Route 16 in Colorado

SH 16
Get started Colorado Springs
End Colorado Springs
Length 3 mi
Length 5 km
Route
Santa Fe Avenue

Fountain Mesa Road

State Route 16, commonly known as State Highway 16 or SH 16, is a state route in the U.S. state of Colorado. The road forms a city highway in southern Colorado Springs and is 3 miles long.

Travel directions

SH 16 forms an east-west urban arterial through the south of the city of Colorado Springs. SH 16 begins at a semi-grade grade junction with Interstate 25 and is then formed by Mesa Ridge Parkway, a 2×2 lane urban arterial. The road has one grade separated connection with Santa Fe Avenue, the other intersections are with traffic lights. In southeast Colorado Springs, the road curves north and then becomes SH 21.

History

The original SH 16 was one of Colorado’s early 1920s cross-state highways. This route started on SH 2 at Granby and continued to Greeley, north of Denver. From 1939 this route also became part of US 34. The SH 16 was scrapped during the major renumbering of 1968 because it was an unnecessary double numbering.

SH 16 was reassigned in 1971, this time to Carson Boulevard between I-25 and US 85 in southern Colorado Springs. In 1976, the definition was changed to the newly opened Mesa Ridge Parkway between I-25 and Quebec Street. The split-level connection with Santa Fe Avenue was built in the mid-1980s, especially to cross the railway line. In the 1990s, the road was extended eastwards to its current terminus with SH 21, which it has joined since the early 2000s. In 2008-2009 the connection to the I-25 was reconstructed.

Traffic intensities

Every day, 10,000 to 28,000 vehicles use SH 16, the highest at the junction with I-25.

State Route 16 in Colorado