State Highway 61 (SH 61) is a
state highway in northeastern
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 61's southern terminus is at
U.S. Route 34 (US 34) in
Otis, and the northern terminus is at
US 6
U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to ...
in
Sterling.
Route description
SH 61 begins at an at-grade intersection with
US 34
U.S. Route 34 (US 34) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from north-central Colorado to the western suburbs of Chicago. Through Rocky Mountain National Park it is known as the Trail Ridge Road where it reaches elevation ...
at the south side of
Otis. It begins straight northward through town, in which roads are laid out in a grid-like pattern. The road then exits the town, entering sparsely populated wilderness. Near the
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
-
Logan county line, the road abruptly turns westward and eastward again, crossing the boundary a few miles later.
It then meets its northern terminus at
US 6
U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to ...
east of
Sterling.
Interstate 76
Interstate 76 may refer to:
Interstate Highways in the United States
* Interstate 76 (Colorado–Nebraska)
* Interstate 76 (Ohio–New Jersey), running through Pennsylvania
Video gaming
* ''Interstate '76
''Interstate '76'' is a vehicular ...
(I-76) is accessed by following US 6 west from the northern terminus.
History
The road was established in the 1920s, when it connected
US 36
U.S. Route 36 (US 36) is an east–west United States highway that travels approximately from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado to Uhrichsville, Ohio. The highway's western terminus is at Deer Ridge Junction, an intersection i ...
near
Cope
The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour.
A c ...
to US 38 (former) near
Sterling. When US 38 was moved around 1930, the terminus was redefined as SH 154, which took its place. The section from its current terminus at
Otis to US 36 was deleted and the northern terminus was adjusted to
US 6
U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to ...
, which later became
I-76
Interstate 76 may refer to:
Interstate Highways in the United States
* Interstate 76 (Colorado–Nebraska)
* Interstate 76 (Ohio–New Jersey), running through Pennsylvania
Video gaming
* ''Interstate '76
''Interstate '76'' is a vehicular ...
, in 1954. The route was entirely paved three years later.
Major intersections
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colorado State Highway 061
061
Transportation in Washington County, Colorado
Transportation in Logan County, Colorado