# U.S. Route 85 in Colorado

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.

## Route description

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. As US 85 passes into Stratmoor, Santa Fe Avenue becomes Las Vegas Street then to Venetucci Boulevard in Colorado Springs, before US 85 turns west briefly onto Lake Avenue. US 85 then runs north along Nevada Avenue, through downtown Colorado Springs, before rejoining I-25 at exit 148 on the north side of the city. 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.

## History

US 85 originally followed some of the route that I-25 would later take. 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.

### Realignment

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, it became US 85 between I-25 and Vasquez.
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.

## Junction list

All exits are unnumbered.
| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
| Colorado–New Mexico line | 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 |
| El Paso | Fountain | 131.7 | 212.0 | SH 16 (Mesa Ridge Parkway) to I-25 (US 87) – Ft. Carson | Interchange |
| El Paso | Stratmoor | 135.4 | 217.9 | Academy Boulevard – Colorado Springs Airport | Interchange |
| El Paso | Stratmoor | 137.04 | 220.54 | B Street – Ft. Carson | Northern end of state maintenance |
| El Paso | Colorado Springs | | | Frontage Road (Willwood Road) | Interchange; northbound exit and southbound left entrance |
| El Paso | Colorado Springs | 139.8 | 225.0 | SH 115 south – Cañon City | Interchange; southern end of SH 115 concurrency; SH 115 exit 46 |
| El Paso | Colorado Springs | 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 |
| El Paso | Colorado Springs | 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 |
| Douglas | Castle Rock | 186.3 | 299.8 | N. Meadows Drive / Castle Rock Parkway | Interchange |
| Douglas | Sedalia | 190.4 | 306.4 | SH 67 – Woodland Park | |
| Douglas | ​ | 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 |
| Arapahoe | Sheridan | | | Frontage Road Access | Interchange; southbound exit and entrance |
| Arapahoe | Sheridan–Englewood line | 206.8 | 332.8 | US 285 (Hampden Avenue) | Interchange |
| City and County of Denver | City and County of Denver | 208.7 | 335.9 | Evans Avenue | Interchange |
| City and County of Denver | City and County of Denver | 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 ||||||
| City and County of Denver | City and County of Denver | 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 |
| City and County of Denver | City and County of Denver | 216.8 | 348.9 | 38th Avenue / Park Avenue – Downtown | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; northbound access via I-25 exit 213 |
| City and County of Denver | City and County of Denver | 216.8 | 348.9 | I-70 west – Grand Junction | Northbound left exit and southbound entrance; I-70 exit 274 |
| City and County of Denver | City and County of Denver | 216.8 | 348.9 | I-25 north (US 87 north) – Thornton, Ft. Collins | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-25 exit 214A |
| City and County of Denver | City and County of Denver | 216.8 | 348.9 | Washington Street | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; southbound access via I-70 exit 275A |
| City and County of Denver | City and County of Denver | 216.8 | 348.9 | I-70 west | Southern end of I-70 concurrency; southbound left exit and northbound left entrance; I-70 exit 274 |
| See I-70 ||||||
| City and County of Denver | City and County of Denver | 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 |
| Adams | ​ | 228.3 | 367.4 | SH 44 – Thornton | |
| Adams | Henderson | 231.3 | 372.2 | SH 22 | |
| Adams | Henderson | 231.7 | 372.9 | E-470 – Aurora | Interchange; E-470 exit 38; entrance ramp includes direct entrance from Brighton Road |
| Adams | 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 |
| Weld | Platteville | 250.5 | 403.1 | SH 66 – Longmont | |
| Weld | Platteville | 252.0 | 405.6 | US 85 Bus. south | Southbound access only |
| Weld | ​ | 253.8 | 408.5 | SH 60 – Milliken | |
| Weld | Peckham | | | CR 44 | Partial dumbbell interchange |
| Weld | Evans | 265.6 | 427.4 | US 85 Bus. north – Greeley | Southern end of freeway; northbound left exit and southbound left entrance |
| Weld | Evans | 265.6 | 427.4 | 8th Avenue | Right in/right out interchange; southbound exit and entrance |
| Weld | Evans | 265.6 | 427.4 | US 34 west – Loveland | Southern end of US 34 concurrency; no direct northbound exit; northbound access via US 85 Bus. |
| Weld | Evans | 265.6 | 427.4 | US 85 Bus. north – Greeley | Southbound exit only; access from US 85 Bus. to northbound US 85 via US 34 |
| Weld | Greeley | 265.6 | 427.4 | US 34 east – Ft. Morgan | Northern end of freeway; northern end of US 34 concurrency; left exit and entrance southbound |
| Weld | Greeley | 267.2 | 430.0 | US 34 Bus. (18th Street) | |
| Weld | Greeley | 270.2 | 434.8 | O Street east | Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Weld | Greeley | 270.5 | 435.3 | US 85 Bus. south – Greeley Business District | Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Weld | Lucerne | 272.5 | 438.5 | SH 392 – Windsor | |
| Weld | Ault | 279.8 | 450.3 | SH 14 – Fort Collins | |
| Weld | ​ | 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 ||||||

## Related routes

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