Colorado State Highway 14

State Highway 14 (SH 14) in the U.S. state of Colorado is an east–west state highway approximately 237 miles (381 km) long, making it the longest[citation needed] state highway in Colorado. It traverses four counties along the northern edge of the state, spanning a geography from the continental divide in the Rocky Mountains to the Great Plains, and including North Park, the Poudre Canyon, and the Pawnee National Grassland. It provides the most direct route from Fort Collins westward via Cameron Pass to Walden and Steamboat Springs, and eastward across the plains to Sterling.

State Highway 14 marker
State Highway 14
Map of northern Colorado with SH 14 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by CDOT
Length236.92 mi[1] (381.29 km)
Major junctions
West end US 40 near Muddy Pass on the continental divide
Major intersections
East end US 6 / US 138 in Sterling
Location
CountryUnited States
StateColorado
CountiesJackson, Larimer, Weld, Logan
Highway system
  • Colorado State Highway System
SH 13 SH 15

The highway is two-lane along its entire route, except for portions near Fort Collins where it is concurrent with U.S. Highway 287, and east of Fort Collins near its interchange with Interstate 25.

The western terminus of the highway is on the continental divide, at a junction with U.S. Highway 40 at the summit of Muddy Pass along the border between Jackson and Grand counties. The eastern terminus is at a junction with U.S. Highway 6 in Sterling.

The entire length of the highway is kept open year-round. Despite its western end being on the continental divide itself, Route 14 through Cameron Pass can be one of the more reliable routes across the Front Range mountains in stormy winter weather.

Route description

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SH 14, here concurrent with US 287, north of Bellvue at Teds Place. Goat Hill near Bellvue can be seen in the background.

Going eastward from Muddy Pass southeast of Steamboat Springs,[2] it transverses through North Park, first going northeast to Walden, then southeast through Gould along the valley of the Michigan River. It then transverses along the southern end of the Medicine Bow Mountains at Cameron Pass, where it enters Larimer County. It then descends through the pass to the northwest along the valley of Joe Wright Creek to Chambers Lake, traveling through the mountains along the valley of the Cache la Poudre River and passing through the Poudre Canyon. It joins U.S. Highway 287 southbound at Teds Place, a longtime local landmark just east of the mouth of the Poudre Canyon. It is concurrent with U.S. Route 287 southward to Fort Collins, where it splits from 287, going east from downtown Fort Collins along East Mulberry Street and reaching Interstate 25 at exit 269. East of I-25, it enters Weld County and passes through Ault, where it intersects U.S. Highway 85. East of Ault, it enters a sparsely populated area of the high plains in eastern Weld County, where it passes through three small towns, Briggsdale, New Raymer, and Stoneham. Along this stretch it passes alongside several parcels of the Pawnee National Grasslands. Its eastern terminus at Sterling is in central Logan County, along the South Platte River, just across the river from Interstate 76.

 
SH 14 looking at the Nokhu Crags in the Never Summer Mountains

History

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SH 14 crossing the Colorado plains in rural Weld County, near the Pawnee National Grassland.

The section of the road in Fort Collins that is concurrent with Jefferson Street and Riverside Avenue follows a section of the Overland Trail, a stage route and emigrant trail used in the 1860s. The section in Fort Collins was known as the "Denver Road". The section up the Poudre Canyon was built in the 1920s.

The route as a Colorado state highway was established in the 1920s from its current western terminus all the way to Nebraska. In 1926, US 38 took over its routing from Sterling, its current eastern terminus, to Nebraska. The route was paved in 1936 from Fort Collins to Ault.[3] The entire route was paved by 1963, and the eastern section of the route concurrent with U.S. Highway 6 east of Sterling was eliminated in 1968.[3] The only gap left was eliminated in 1979.

Major intersections

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CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
Jackson0.0000.000  US 40 – Kremmling, Steamboat SpringsWestern terminus at Muddy Pass
Walden32.96853.057 
 
SH 125 south – Rand
West end of SH 125 overlap
34.09054.863 
 
SH 125 north – Cowdrey
East end of SH 125 overlap
Cameron Pass64.928104.491Elevation 10,276 feet (3,132 m)
Larimer121.713195.878 
 
US 287 north – La Porte, Laramie
West end of US 287 overlap
Fort Collins128.934207.499 
 
SH 1 north – Wellington
Southern terminus of SH 1
134.770216.891 
 
US 287 south – Loveland
East end US 287 overlap
138.968223.647  I-25 (US 87) – Denver, CheyenneI-25 exit 269
Weld144.152231.990 
 
SH 257 south – Windsor
Northern terminus of SH 257
Ault153.370246.825  US 85 – Cheyenne, Greeley
Briggsdale176.110283.422 
 
SH 392 west – Greeley
Eastern terminus of SH 392
Raymer205.236330.295 
 
SH 52 south – Fort Morgan
Northern terminus of SH 52
211.807340.870 
 
SH 71 north – Kimball
West end of SH 71 overlap
215.828347.341 
 
SH 71 south – Snyder, Brush
East end of SH 71 overlap
LoganSterling236.824381.131 
 
  US 138 east (3rd Street) / US 6 – Holyoke, Julesburg
Eastern terminus; highway continues as US 6 east (Chestnut Street east)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

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  1. ^ Colorado Department of Transportation. "Segment list for SH 14". Retrieved 2007-05-12.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ The United States (Map). National Geographic. October 2006.
  3. ^ a b Salek, Mathew E (December 19, 2009). "Colorado SH 14". Retrieved April 3, 2010.
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KML is from Wikidata

  Media related to Colorado State Highway 14 at Wikimedia Commons