U.S. Route 160 in Colorado

U.S. Highway 164
U.S. Highway 164
Location	Flagstaff, AZ–Cortez, CO
Existed	1964–1970

U.S. Highway 160
U.S. Highway 160
Route information
	Maintained by CDOT
Length	490.0 mi (788.6 km)
Existed	1926–present
Major junctions
West end	US 160 at the New Mexico state line
	US 491 in Cortez; US 550 in Durango; US 84 in Pagosa Springs; US 285 in Monte Vista; US 285 in Alamosa; I-25 / US 85 / US 87 in Walsenburg; I-25 / US 85 / US 87 in Trinidad; US 350 near Trinidad; US 287 / US 385 in Springfield;
East end	US-160 at the Kansas state line
Location
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Highway system
	United States Numbered Highway System; List; Special; Divided; Colorado State Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Scenic;

U.S. Highway 160 (US 160) is the portion of an east–west freeway in Colorado that starts at the New Mexico state line southwest of Cortez and ends at the Kansas state line east of Springfield.

Route description

US 160 enters Colorado near the Four Corners Monument. It goes northeast and intersects US 491, then turns north to enter Cortez with US 491. East of Cortez, a road leads south from US 160 to Mesa Verde National Park. It continues east to Durango, where it intersects US 550. After overlapping with US 550 south of Durango, US 160 turns east and meets US 84 at Pagosa Springs. It then goes northeast and crosses the Continental Divide at Wolf Creek Pass, the area made popular in 1975 in C.W. McCall's album Wolf Creek Pass.

From Wolf Creek Pass, US 160 continues northeast and turns east at South Fork. At Monte Vista, an overlap begins with US 285, which continues southeast into Alamosa. It turns east, then goes northeast to go through North La Veta Pass, then continues east to Walsenburg, where it intersects Interstate 25 (I-25).

From Walsenberg, US 160 continues south with I-25 to Trinidad, then turns northeast to intersect US 350. It continues east, passing through the Comanche National Grassland before intersecting the concurrent US 287 and US 385 south of Springfield. It continues east and enters Kansas east of Walsh.

History

As commissioned in 1930 the western terminus was Trinidad.^[1] In 1939, US 160 absorbed all of former route U.S. Route 450 which ran from US 50 at Crescent Junction, Utah to US 85 at Walsenburg.^[2]

In 1970, many US Highways in the Four Corners region were realigned. US 160 was diverted southwesterly from Cortez to follow its present route past the Four Corners into Arizona, absorbing the route numbered U.S. Route 164.^[3]

Junction list

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Montezuma		0.0	0.0	US 160 west – Four Corners	Continuation into New Mexico
		4.9	7.9	SH 41
		18.2	29.3	US 491 – Shiprock	Western end of US 491 concurrency
	Cortez	37.9	61.0	US 491 – Monticello	Eastern end of US 491 concurrency
	Cortez	40.3	64.9	SH 145 – Telluride
	Mancos	54.6	87.9	US 160 Bus.
		56.0	90.1	SH 184 – Dolores
		57.0	91.7	US 160 Bus.
La Plata	Hesperus	72.7	117.0	SH 140 – Kline, Redmesa
	Durango	83.2	133.9	US 550 – Silverton	Western end of US 550 concurrency
		83.9	135.0	SH 3
		85.9	138.2	SH 3
		87.6	141.0	US 550 – Bloomfield	Eastern end of US 550 concurrency
		90.6	145.8	SH 172 – Oxford	Access to Durango-La Plata County Airport
	Bayfield	100.6	161.9	US 160 Bus.
	Bayfield	102.7	165.3	US 160 Bus.
Archuleta		126.1	202.9	SH 151 – Arboles
Archuleta	Pagosa Springs	143.5	230.9	US 84 – Santa Fe
Mineral	No major junctions
Rio Grande	South Fork	184.9	297.6	SH 149 – Rio Grande National Forest
	Del Norte	200.9	323.3	SH 112 – Center
	Monte Vista	214.5	345.2	US 285 / SH 15 – Denver, La Jara	Western end of US 285 concurrency
Alamosa	Alamosa	231.6	372.7	US 285 / SH 17 – Santa Fe, La Jara	Eastern end of US 285 concurrency; western end of SH 17 concurrency
Alamosa	Alamosa East	232.8	374.7	SH 17 – Hooper	Eastern end of SH 17 concurrency
Alamosa–Costilla county line		246.7	397.0	SH 150 – Great Sand Dunes National Park
Costilla	Fort Garland	257.1	413.8	SH 159 – San Luis
Huerfano		292.9	471.4	SH 12 – La Veta
	Walsenburg	304.1	489.4	I-25 BL	Western end of I-25 Bus. concurrency
		304.3	489.7	I-25 BL	Eastern end of I-25 Bus. concurrency
		305.2	491.2	I-25 / US 85 / US 87 / SH 10 – Denver, La Junta	Western end of I-25 / US 85 / US 87 concurrency; I-25 exit 50
See I-25
Las Animas	Trinidad	340.4	547.8	I-25 / US 85 / US 87 / SH 239 – Santa Fe, El Moro	Eastern end of I-25 / US 85 / US 87 concurrency; I-25 exit 15
	Trinidad	341.2	549.1	SH 12 – Cuchara
		346.6	557.8	US 350 – La Junta	Access to Perry Stokes Airport
		375.8	604.8	SH 389 – Branson
		409.5	659.0	SH 109 – La Junta
Baca	Springfield	457.1	735.6	US 287 / US 385 – Amarillo, Odessa, Denver, Lamar
Baca		490.0	788.6	US-160 east – Johnson City	Continuation into Kansas
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus

References

^ U.S. Highway Ends by Dale Sanderson (Mapguy), Last Retrieved September 25, 2007^{[self-published source]}
^ U.S. Highway Ends by Dale Sanderson (Mapguy), Last Retrieved September 25, 2007^{[self-published source]}
^ U.S. Highway Ends by Dale Sanderson (Mapguy), Last Retrieved September 25, 2007^{[self-published source]}

U.S. Route 160
Previous state: New Mexico	Colorado	Next state: Kansas

[1] U.S. Highway Ends by Dale Sanderson (Mapguy), Last Retrieved September 25, 2007^{[self-published source]}

[2] U.S. Highway Ends by Dale Sanderson (Mapguy), Last Retrieved September 25, 2007^{[self-published source]}

[3] U.S. Highway Ends by Dale Sanderson (Mapguy), Last Retrieved September 25, 2007^{[self-published source]}

[1]

[2]

[3]