State Route 2, 202, 207, 209 and 21 in Colorado

State Route 21 in Colorado

State Route 2 in Colorado

SH 2
Get started Denver
End Brighton
Length 24 mi
Length 39 km
Route
Denver

Commerce City

Brighton

According to watchtutorials, State Route 2, commonly known as State Highway 2 or SH 2, is a state route in the U.S. state of Colorado. The road forms a north-south route between Denver and Brighton. SH 2 is 39 kilometers long.

Travel directions

Colorado Boulevard in Denver.

SH 2 begins in southern Denver at an intersection with US 285. SH 2 heads north on Colorado Boulevard, a major urban arterial through the eastern half of Denver. The road usually has 2×3 lanes and passes 3 kilometers east of the center. There are connections to Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 in Denver. The road then leads through industrial areas in Commerce City and crosses Interstate 225, in addition there is a double numbering with US 85.

Between Commerce City and Brighton, SH 2 runs parallel to US 85 and has a more secondary character. The road is single-lane and parallels and eventually intersects with Interstate 76. The road then briefly passes through rural areas before reaching the suburb of Brighton, where SH 2 ends at SH 7 in the center.

History

According to Citypopulationreview, SH 2 was one of the original 19 1923 state highways that ran through the entire state of Colorado. SH 2 ran from the Utah state border and went through Denver and Greeley to the Nebraska border. This corridor later became part of US 40, US 85, US 34 and US 6. Thus, the original SH 2 ran east-west through much of Denver, along Colfax Avenue. SH 2 was eventually shortened further and further, until the current portion in the south and east of the Denver region remained since 1998. It is a major city highway in Denver.

Traffic intensities

The section through Denver is a busy city road with mostly 45,000 to 60,000 vehicles per day. The section parallel to I-76 northeast of Commerce City handles 11,000 vehicles per day.

State Route 202 in Colorado

SR-202
Get started Rocky Ford
End Rocky Ford
Length 3 mi
Length 5 km
Route
Rocky Ford

State Route 202, commonly known as State Highway 202 or SH 202 is a short state route in the US state of Colorado. The road forms a short east-west route at Rocky Ford on the High Plains and runs from US 50 to County Road 16 west of Rocky Ford. SH 202 is 5 kilometers long. It became a state highway in 1939 and was paved in 1958. Every day, 1,700 vehicles use the road in Rocky Ford itself and 200 vehicles west of Rocky Ford.

State Route 207 in Colorado

SR-207
Begin Manzanola
End Crowley
Length 6 mi
Length 10 km
Route
ManzanolaCrowley

State Route 207, commonly known as State Highway 207 or SH 207 is a state route in the U.S. state of Colorado. The road forms a 10-mile north-south link on the High Plains, between US 50 in Manzanola and SH 96 in Crowley. The road became a state highway in 1939 and was paved in 1954. Every day 600 vehicles use the SH 207.

State Route 209 in Colorado

SR-209
Get started US 50
End boone
Length 1.5 mi
Length 2.5 km
Route
boone

State Route 209, commonly known as State Highway 209 or SH 209, is a state route in the U.S. state of Colorado, located in the High Plains. The road connects US 50 and SH 96 in the hamlet of Boone for one and a half miles. The road has a bridge over the Arkansas River. The road became a state highway in 1939, but the bridge over the Arkansas River was not opened until 1946. The road was paved in 1949. Every day 200 vehicles use the SH 209.

State Route 21 in Colorado

SH 21
Get started Colorado Springs
End Black Forest
Length 21 mi
Length 33 km
Route
Colorado Springs

State Route 21, commonly known as State Highway 21 or SH 21 is a state route in the U.S. state of Colorado. The road forms the eastern bypass of the city of Colorado Springs and is 33 kilometers long.

Travel directions

SH 21 forms the eastern perimeter of Colorado Springs and runs from SH 16 in the southeast part of town to SH 83. The road is a typical ‘limited-access highway’, a road with 2×2 to 2×3 lanes with intersections at greater distances and little to no direct access to businesses or homes. The northern part is a motorway for more than 8 kilometers. The road passes Colorado Springs Airport and is double numbered with US 24. The entire route has five grade-separated connections.

History

Former routes

The original SH 21 was a loop from US 85 in Platteville north of Denver. This route was no longer a state highway in 1939. After that, the track has been part of a spur of the US 6 in the hamlet of Paoli in the northeast of the state for an unknown time. Thereafter, in 1954, it would have been a short-lived spur of SH 13 at Hamilton in the northwest part of the state. In 1955 the number was assigned to the road from SH 14 at Stoneham to the border with the state of Nebraska. This was renumbered as part of SH 71 in 1964.

Colorado Springs

On October 1, 2007, SH 21 was assigned to Powers Boulevard, Colorado Springs’ eastern bypass. At the time, the entire road was already passable between SH 16 and SH 83, but has been upgraded at a few points later.

In the late 1990s, the road existed as an urban arterial between Fontaine Boulevard in the south and Woodmen Road in northern Colorado Springs. Several Colorado Springs residential areas had grown east of SH 21 at the time. The split-level connection with Platte Avenue (US 24) was opened sometime between 1999 and 2003. The connection with Woodmen Road was constructed around 2010-2011. In August 2012, the main carriageway opened at Union Boulevard and Briargate Parkway, which is actually a short freeway.

Colorado Springs is a fast-growing city, and it may have been better if SH 21 had been constructed in a way that would allow for a later freeway reconstruction. El Paso County grew from 300,000 in 1980 to 600,000 in 2010. The northernmost section between Research Parkway and SH 83 has been constructed with a view to a later freeway. This part opened to traffic around 2004. However, the intersection with Research Parkway was regulated by traffic lights for a longer period of time. A grade-separated connection with a diverging diamond interchange was constructed here in 2021-2022, which was taken into use on September 14, 2022. This effectively also put a section of highway of 3 kilometers into use. The highway section from Woodmen Road to SH 83 was therefore 8.5 kilometers long.

Traffic intensities

Every day 11,000 to 13,000 vehicles drive over the southernmost part and 30,000 to 32,000 vehicles pass the airport as far as the US 24. The double numbering with the US 24 has 44,000 to 53,000 vehicles per day. The busiest part is between US 24 and Woodmen Road with 57,000 to 69,000 vehicles per day. This drops to 31,000 vehicles on the northernmost part.

State Route 21 in Colorado