State Highway 42 (SH 42) is a
state highway in
Boulder County, Colorado
Boulder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado of the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 330,758. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is Boulder.
Boulder County comprises th ...
,
United States. It runs south from
SH 7 to
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
and then east to
US 287.
Route description
SH 42 begins in northwestern
Lafayette
Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to:
People
* Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette
* House of La Fayette, a French noble family
** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...
at a junction with SH 7 (Arapahoe Road) and heads south on 95th Street. later, after crossing
Baseline Road, the roadway S-curves to the east to line up with 96th Street, though it keeps the 95th Street name until the Louisville city limits. After bypassing downtown Louisville to the east, SH 42 turns east onto a road that becomes Empire Road upon leaving Louisville. It ends at US 287 south of downtown Lafayette.
History
State Highway 168 was designated in 1932-1934 along a route similar to the present SH 42, but using a number of different roadways. It began on SH 7 in the same place and headed south on 95th Street, but the S-curve was not in place and it jogged east on Baseline Road to reach 96th Street. SH 168 then jogged west on South Boulder Road across the railroad to Louisville's Main Street, and turned east on Pine Street, crossing SH 42 onto Empire Road. This street curves south to meet SH 42 at the current city limits of Louisville, after which SH 168 followed SH 42 to end at
SH 1 (now US 287). In 1953 the state highway system was greatly reduced
[1923 list of state highways, reproduced i]
Highways to the Sky
Appendix C, p. 39 and SH 168 disappeared. The loop through Louisville returned to the system in 1960-1961 with a new number: State Highway 42. Two new segments of road were built in about 1970, giving SH 42 its current shape (but initially a sweeping curve carried traffic around the corner east of downtown Louisville).
[ United States Geological Survey]
Louisville 1:24000
1973Colorado Department of Transportation
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT, pronounced See Dot) is the principal department of the Colorado state government that administers state government transportation responsibilities in the state of Colorado. CDOT is responsible f ...
, official highway maps: 1932, 1934, 1952, 1954, 1960, 1961, 1965
Major intersections
See also
*
List of state highways in Colorado
References
External links
Colorado Highways: Route 42
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colorado State Highway 042
042
State Highway 042