| US 160 | |||
| Get started | Four Corners | ||
| End | Bartlett | ||
| Length | 497 mi | ||
| Length | 800 km | ||
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According to Bittranslators, US 160 is a US Highway in the US state of Colorado. US 160 forms an east-west route through the south of the state, from the Four Corners four-state point through Durango and Trinidad to the Kansas border. The route is 800 kilometers long.
Travel directions
US 160 near Four Corners.
US 160 at Mesa Verde National Park east of Cortez.
US 160 northeast of Pagosa Springs.
US 160 in Arizona enters Colorado at Four Corners. Four States come together at Four Corners, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. The US 160 runs a few meters from here. Immediately thereafter, the road crosses the San Juan River and heads east over a desert plateau at 1,500 feet, through the Ute Mountain Reservate. After about 30 kilometers starts a double numbering of 30 kilometers with the US 491 to the town of Cortez. US 160 runs north here and enters a more temperate agricultural area. In Cortez, US 160 exits east and US 491 continues north towardUtah. US 160 then runs past Mesa Verde National Park, rising to over 2,000 feet. About 70 kilometers separates Cortez from the regional town of Durango, with 15,500 inhabitants the largest place in southwest Colorado.
In Durango, US 550 crosses, a north-south route from Montrose in the north to Albuquerque in the south. After about 30 kilometers you come across a plateau without many differences in height, but to the north and east there are high mountains. After about 100 kilometers you reach the village of Pagosa Springs, which is important because this is the starting point of US 84, which leads to Santa Fe in New Mexico. US 160 then really goes into the mountains and ascends northeast to the 3,309-foot Wolf Creek Pass, over the pass height are 4 lanes of traffic for ascending and descending traffic. The road then runs via South Fork to Monte Vista, a small town on a wide plateau at an altitude of about 2300 meters. Here adds theUS 285 from Denver, for a double numbering of more than 25 kilometers to the town of Alamosa. In Alamosa, US 285 turns south again to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The road then continues for a while over a flat plateau, but to the north and east there are mountains up to 4300 meters. The road then crosses the last ridge and arrives at the vast High Plains.
One then reaches the town of Walsenburg, where US 160 merges with Interstate 25 heading south for a double number of 60 kilometers to Trinidad. I-25 runs along the edge of the mountain range, with high mountains to the west and desolate plains to the east. At Trinidad, US 160 exits and US 350 begins here, running to La Junta in the northeast. US 160 then begins a very lonely route to the border with Kansas, the next somewhat larger place is Dodge City in Kansas440 kilometers away. The US 160 runs here for great distances through uninhabited land, crossing only a few country roads to remote ranches. Both to the north and south is an area of shallow canyons, as several of the Arkansas and Cimarron tributaries originate here. The village of Springfield crosses US 287 and US 385, which run from Lamar to Boise City, Oklahoma. Then follow the last 50 kilometers to the border with Kansas. US 160 in Kansas then continues to Dodge City.
History
US 160’s predecessor in western Colorado was largely SH 10 between Cortez and Walsenburg. It was created in the early 1920s. In 1926, this route was renumbered US 450. US 160 was created in 1930. The route then started in Trinidad and so only went through southeastern Colorado. In 1934, US 160 was extended west into Utah, then ran from Cortez on what is now US 491. This section was numbered US 450 prior to 1939. In 1970, the routes in the New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah border area (“Four Corners”) were reclassified, and US 160 was routed southwest from Cortez, leaving the current route in Colorado came into being.
In the early 1930s, the section between Cortez and Durango was paved, as well as between Del Norte and Fort Garland further east. The rest of the route was paved between Cortez and Walsenburg in the mid to late 1930s. US 160 passes over the important Wolf Creek Pass (3,309 m), which is the most significant link between southwest Colorado and the rest of the state, as alternate links are even higher and steeper. The Wolf Creek Pass was paved in the first half of the 1950s and was the last part of US 160 to be paved. The Wolf Creek Pass was widened in the 2000s to 2×2 lanes and is therefore easy to drive. To the east is the somewhat lower North La Veta Pass (2,873 m).
In eastern Colorado, US 160 was preceded by SH 100 between Trinidad and the Kansas state border. US 160 diverged from its current route from the 1920s onward, branching south from Trinidad to Branson and continuing north on SH 116 to the Kansas state border. The intermediate section was formed by SH 100 between Branson and the Kansas border at Walsh. The portion on the High Plains has been partially paved since the 1930s, parts of the route in southeastern Colorado were not paved until the 1950s and early 1960s. US 160 was rerouted east of Trinidad to its current route. In 1968 the SH 100 double numbering was deleted.
Traffic intensities
2,200 vehicles drive daily at the Arizona border, increasing to 20,000 vehicles in Cortez. Between Cortez and Durango, 6,000 to 9,000 vehicles drove, rising to 33,000 vehicles in Durango, the largest town in the southwest of the state. 3,200 vehicles drove daily over the Wolf Creek Pass, rising to 7,000 vehicles at Monte Vista. 1,800 to 3,200 vehicles drove between Alamosa and Walsenburg.
The section between Trinidad and the Kansas border is very quiet, with only 100 to 400 vehicles on most sections. Only in a few villages are just 1,000 vehicles tapped.
