State Highway 142 (SH 142) is a long
state highway in southern
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
. SH 142's western terminus is at
U.S. Route 285 (US 285) near
Romeo
Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...
, and the eastern terminus is at
SH 159 in
San Luis.
Route description
SH 142 begins in the west at its junction with
US 285
U.S. Route 285 is a north–south United States highway, running 846 miles (1,362 km) through the states of Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. The highway's southern terminus is in Sanderson, Texas at an intersection with U.S. Route 90. US ...
mere feet outside the city limits of
Romeo
Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...
. The route heads east through the towns of
Manassa and
San Acacio
San Acacio is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Costilla County, Colorado, United States. The population of the San Acacio CDP was 40 at the 2010 United States census. The Sanford post of ...
before reaching its eastern terminus at
San Luis where it meets
SH 159.
The highway passes through the
San Luis Hills and over the
Rio Grande. The Manassa Dike is visible from the highway as it passes through the hills. Overall, the highway has very little traffic, especially the section that passes through the San Luis Hills. SH 142 connects the two river valleys (
Conejos,
Culebra Creek), passing through a high desert with little vegetation.
Scenic Byway
All of the highway is part of the Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic Byway
[Colorado. Department of Transportation]
Los Caminos Antiguos
/ref>
File:Colorado State Highway 142.JPG, Looking west from the San Luis Hills.
File:Romeo, Colorado.JPG, Romeo, Colorado, the western terminus of the highway.
File:Rito Seco Creek Culvert.JPG, The eastern end of the highway in San Luis, Colorado.
Major intersections
References
External links
{{Attached KML
142
Transportation in Conejos County, Colorado
Transportation in Costilla County, Colorado