U.S. Route 85 in Colorado

U.S. Highway 85
CanAm Highway
US 85 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by CDOT
Length	309.6 mi[1] (498.3 km)
Major junctions
South end	I-25 / US 85 / US 87 at the New Mexico state line
Major intersections	US 160 in Trinidad US 160 in Walsenburg US 50 in Pueblo I-25 / US 24 / US 87 in Colorado Springs I-25 / US 87 in Castle Rock US 285 in Englewood I-25 / I-70 / US 6 / US 87 in Denver I-270 / US 36 in Commerce City I-76 / US 6 in Henderson US 34 in Garden City
North end	US 85 at the Wyoming state line
Location
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Counties	Las Animas, Huerfano, Pueblo, El Paso, Douglas, Arapahoe, Denver, Adams, Weld
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Colorado State Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
← US 84 → SH 86

U.S. Route 85 (US 85) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that travels from the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, north to the Canadian border in Fortuna, North Dakota. In the state of Colorado, US 85 begins at the New Mexico state line south of Starkville and ends at the Wyoming state line south of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

US 85 enters Colorado from New Mexico running concurrently with Interstate 25 (I-25) but is not signed. US 85 leaves I-25 at exit 128 and follows Santa Fe Avenue through Fountain before turning west briefly onto Lake Avenue before rejoining I-25 at exit 138. Approaching the south side of Denver, US 85 again leaves I-25 at exit 184. From there it heads west and north as a two-lane rural highway. It becomes an expressway near Chatfield Reservoir and the southern Denver suburbs of Littleton and Englewood, where it is commonly known as Santa Fe Drive. From just north of its intersection with C-470 to its northern intersection with I-25, it is known as the Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Highway. It continues north through Denver for a few miles before once again joining with I-25 at mile marker 207. There it runs concurrently with US 87 as well as I-25 and heads north through downtown Denver. At exit 214, US 85 turns east and runs concurrently with I-70 and US 6 for about a mile where it exits with US 6 and heads northeast through Commerce City. In just a few miles the US 6/US 85 concurrency merges with I-76 at mile marker 9. They travel concurrently for three miles (4.8 km) until exit 12 when US 85 becomes an expressway and continues north out of the Denver area through Brighton.

From there it parallels I-25 for about 75 miles (121 km) passing through Fort Lupton, Platteville, Evans, Greeley, and Eaton before crossing into Wyoming.^{[citation needed]}

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2017)

US 85 originally followed some of the route that I-25 would later take.^[2] In southern Colorado, US 85 originally was placed on city streets in Pueblo and Trinidad until 1938 where the route was ultimately paved from one state to another, taking place at the present I-25 corridor. In Denver, US 85 followed Santa Fe Drive north to Iowa Avenue, three miles (4.8 km) south of downtown, then jogged east to Broadway, continuing about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) north to turn northeast onto Brighton Boulevard.^[3]

Starting in 1942, a realignment project took place in northeastern Denver, involving the opening of Vasquez Boulevard. Originally, US 85 ran along Brighton Boulevard from downtown going northeast and then was realigned along 46th Avenue to Vasquez Bouleard. Five years later, in Pueblo, the route took the downtown streets before the Greenhorn/Crow bypass opened two years later. In 1950, the Palmer Lake/Larkspur bypass opened, moving US 85 along with US 87 along the expressway. The expressway opened north of Pueblo in 1951, which allowed both US 85 and US 87 to use the expressway coming out of downtown until 1954.

In 1958, when the Valley Highway (now I-25) opened in Denver, US 85 no longer followed Broadway. It followed Santa Fe Drive north to Alameda, then transitioned onto I-25 until 46th Avenue, where it turned east toward Vasquez. When I-70 was connected to I-25 in 1964,^[4] it became US 85 between I-25 and Vasquez.^[3]

On October 1, 2007, part of the US-85 known as Nevada Avenue was relinquished and is now maintained by the City of Colorado Springs.^[5]

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (January 2022)

All exits are unnumbered.

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Colorado–New Mexico line		0.00	0.00	I-25 south (US 85 / US 87 south)	Continuation into New Mexico
See I-25
El Paso	Fountain	128.0	206.0	I-25 north (US 87 north) – Colorado Springs	Northern end of I-25/US 87 concurrency; I-25 exit 128
		131.7	212.0	SH 16 (Mesa Ridge Parkway) to I-25 (US 87) – Ft. Carson	Interchange
	Stratmoor	135.4	217.9	Academy Boulevard – Colorado Springs Airport	Interchange
		137.04	220.54	B Street – Ft. Carson	Northern end of state maintenance
	Colorado Springs			Frontage Road (Willwood Road)	Interchange; northbound exit and southbound left entrance
		139.8	225.0	SH 115 south – Cañon City	Interchange; southern end of SH 115 concurrency; SH 115 exit 46
		141.0	226.9	SH 115 ends / I-25 / US 24 (US 87) – Pueblo, Denver	Northern terminus of SH 115; northern end of SH 115 concurrency; I-25 exit 140
		148.0	238.2	I-25 south (US 87 south) / Rockrimmon Boulevard – Pueblo	Southern end of I-25/US 87 concurrency; I-25 exit 148
See I-25
Douglas	Castle Rock	184.7	297.2	I-25 north (US 87 north) / SH 86 east (Founders Parkway) – Denver	Southern end of state maintenance; northern end of I-25/US 87 concurrency; I-25 exit 184
		186.3	299.8	N. Meadows Drive / Castle Rock Parkway	Interchange
	Sedalia	190.4	306.4	SH 67 – Woodland Park
	​	196.4	316.1	Titan Parkway	Interchange
Douglas–Arapahoe county line	Highlands Ranch–Littleton line	200.5	322.7	SH 470 – Chatfield Dam	SH 470 exit 17
Arapahoe	Littleton	204.8	329.6	SH 88 (Belleview Avenue)	Interchange
	Sheridan			Frontage Road Access	Interchange; southbound exit and entrance
	Sheridan–Englewood line	206.8	332.8	US 285 (Hampden Avenue)	Interchange
City and County of Denver		208.7	335.9	Evans Avenue	Interchange
		211.0	339.6	I-25 south (US 87 south) / Santa Fe Drive north – Colorado Springs	Southern end of freeway section; southern end of I-25/US 6/US 87 concurrency; I-25 exit 207B
		See I-25
		216.8	348.9	I-25 north (US 87 north)	Northern end of I-25/US 87 concurrency; northbound left exit and southbound left entrance; I-25 exit 214A
				38th Avenue / Park Avenue – Downtown	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; northbound access via I-25 exit 213
				I-70 west – Grand Junction	Northbound left exit and southbound entrance; I-70 exit 274
				I-25 north (US 87 north) – Thornton, Ft. Collins	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-25 exit 214A
				Washington Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; southbound access via I-70 exit 275A
				I-70 west	Southern end of I-70 concurrency; southbound left exit and northbound left entrance; I-70 exit 274
		See I-70
		218.9	352.3	I-70 east	Northern end of freeway section; northern end of I-70 concurrency; I-70 exit 276A
See US 6
Adams	​	228.1	367.1	I-76 east (US 6 east) – Fort Morgan	Northern end of I-76/US 6 concurrency; left entrance southbound, no southbound exit; I-76 exit 12
	​	228.3	367.4	SH 44 – Thornton
	Henderson	231.3	372.2	SH 22
		231.7	372.9	E-470 – Aurora	Interchange; E-470 exit 38; entrance ramp includes direct entrance from Brighton Road
	Brighton	235.7	379.3	SH 7 – Brighton	Dumbbell interchange
Weld	Fort Lupton	241.6	388.8	US 85 Bus. east / SH 52 – Ft. Lupton	Interchange
	Platteville	250.5	403.1	SH 66 – Longmont
		252.0	405.6	US 85 Bus. south	Southbound access only
	​	253.8	408.5	SH 60 – Milliken
	Peckham			CR 44	Partial dumbbell interchange[6]
	Evans	265.6	427.4	US 85 Bus. north – Greeley	Southern end of freeway; northbound left exit and southbound left entrance
				8th Avenue	Right in/right out interchange; southbound exit and entrance
				US 34 west – Loveland	Southern end of US 34 concurrency; no direct northbound exit; northbound access via US 85 Bus.
				US 85 Bus. north – Greeley	Southbound exit only; access from US 85 Bus. to northbound US 85 via US 34
	Greeley			US 34 east – Ft. Morgan	Northern end of freeway; northern end of US 34 concurrency; left exit and entrance southbound
		267.2	430.0	US 34 Bus. (18th Street)
		270.2	434.8	O Street east	Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance
		270.5	435.3	US 85 Bus. south – Greeley Business District	Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Lucerne	272.5	438.5	SH 392 – Windsor
	Ault	279.8	450.3	SH 14 – Fort Collins
	​	309.6	498.3	US 85 north – Cheyenne	Continuation into Wyoming
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access       Unopened

US 85 has three current business routes in Colorado: one in Fort Lupton, one in Platteville, and one in Greeley.

• U.S. Roads portal
• Colorado portal

Media related to U.S. Route 85 in Colorado at Wikimedia Commons

U.S. Route 85
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