Interstate 76 (I-76) is an east–west
Interstate Highway in the
Western United States
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...
that runs from
I-70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the c ...
in
Arvada, Colorado – near
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
– to an intersection with
I-80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
near
Big Springs, Nebraska
Big Springs is a village in Deuel County, Nebraska, Deuel County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 400 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census.
History
The first name of the settlement was "Lone Tree", after a large cottonwood t ...
. The highway measures long,
all but approximately of which is in Colorado. Along the route, the highway runs concurrent with
US Route 6 (US 6),
US 85 in the
Denver metropolitan area, and
US 34 from
Wiggins to
Fort Morgan Fort Morgan can apply to any one of several places in the United States:
*Fort Morgan (Alabama), a fort at the mouth of Mobile Bay
*Fort Morgan, Alabama, a nearby community
*Fort Morgan (Colorado), a frontier military post located in present-day Fo ...
. It currently has no
auxiliary Interstate
Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways) are a supplemental subset of the freeways within the Interstate Highway System of the United States.
Auxiliary routes are generally classified as spur routes, which con ...
s, but it has two
business routes that are located in northeastern Colorado. This route is not connected with the other
I-76 that spans from Ohio to New Jersey.
Route description
, -
, CO
,
, -
, NE
,
, -
, Total
,
Colorado
I-76 begins at an interchange with
I-70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the c ...
in
Arvada
Arvada () is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States Census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 residing in Adams Cou ...
. From I-70, the freeway heads east to an exit at
State Highway 95 (SH 95), known as Sheridan Boulevard. The route heads northeastward across
US 287, known as Federal Boulevard, to an interchange with
I-25
Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...
. Running roughly parallel to nearby
Clear Creek, I-76 meets another interchange, with
I-270 in
North Washington, Colorado
North Washington is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Adams County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The popu ...
, where Clear Creek joins the
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. It ...
, which is crossed by I-76. After an interchange at
SH 224, I-76 joins
US 85 and
US 6 at Brighton Boulevard. Past Derby, US 85 veers away from I-76 at Dayton Way. The combined routes of US 6 and I-76 head northeastward, crossing
SH 2, named Sable Boulevard, before meeting an exit at
E-470
E-470 is a controlled-access toll road that traverses the eastern portion of the Denver metropolitan area in the US state of Colorado. It is the eastern half of the 470 beltway that serves Meridian, Parker, Aurora, Denver International Airpor ...
, a toll road. Past E-470, the freeway exits the
Denver metropolitan area.
Passing just west of
Barr Lake, the freeway heads northeastward east of
Brighton. Near
Lochbuie, the freeway crosses
SH 7, before crossing into
Weld County
Weld County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 328,981. The county seat is Greeley.
Weld County comprises the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Denver ...
. I-76 meets
SH 52 in
Hudson, the next city along the freeway. Past Hudson, the combined routes of US 6 and I-76 turn slightly eastward into
Keenesburg, which is served by a business loop (
I-76 Business -76 Bus. I-76 then turns northeast and east into
Roggen, where it meets County Road 73. The highway heads away from the farmland it was formerly running through and traverses a large grassland area. Just south of the
Empire Reservoir, the freeway turns back east, crossing into
Morgan County within circular fields. Heading east, I-76 heads into
Wiggins, near which I-76 joins
US 34. The three combined routes head east through farms.
The freeway heads east toward
Fort Morgan Fort Morgan can apply to any one of several places in the United States:
*Fort Morgan (Alabama), a fort at the mouth of Mobile Bay
*Fort Morgan, Alabama, a nearby community
*Fort Morgan (Colorado), a frontier military post located in present-day Fo ...
, spawning another business loop (
I-76 Bus) that carries US 34 away from I-76. The freeway heads east into Fort Morgan, meeting
SH 52, now running again near the South Platte River. Still running between the South Platte River to the north and its business loop to the south, I-76 heads just north of
Brush, where it meets a
cloverleaf interchange with
SH 71. US 34 veers away from the business loop as I-76 turns back east, crossing over the business loop, which does not terminate at the freeway. I-76 Bus carries US 6 toward
Hillrose. Bypassing that city, I-76 traverses northeast into
Washington County, with farms to the north along the river and grasslands to the south. Passing the
Prewitt Reservoir, the freeway heads into
Logan County Logan County is the name of ten current counties and one former county in the United States:
* Logan County, Arkansas
* Logan County, Colorado
* Logan County, Idaho (1889–1895)
* Logan County, Illinois
* Logan County, Kansas
* Logan County, ...
. Heading northeasterly, the route crosses
SH 63, which serves
Atwood. I-76 Bus then enters
Sterling, which is near I-76. The business loops turns abruptly east within the city, carrying US 6. US 6 continues past the interchange with the business route.
I-76 continues parallel to the South Platte River, surrounded by farms to the northwest and plains to the southeast. Northwest of the river is
US 138, which serves several towns bypassed by the freeway. I-76 has an exit at
SH 55 which serves the town of
Crook
Crook is another name for criminal.
Crook or Crooks may also refer to:
Places
* Crook, County Durham, England, a town
* Crook, Cumbria, England, village and civil parish
* Crook Hill, Derbyshire, England
* Crook, Colorado, United States, a ...
. With farms on the south part of the freeway as well, I-76 enters
Sedgwick County, crossing
SH 59 which heads to
Sedgwick. The freeway then veers eastward before turning back northeast toward
Julesburg. I-76 comes to an exit at
US 385, which heads northwest to Julesburg. I-76 then heads northeast to the
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
state line.
Nebraska
In
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
, I-76 stretches just over . It is signed as a north–south direction as opposed to the east–west designation in Colorado. Its entire route is located in
Deuel County Deuel County is the name of two counties in the United States:
* Deuel County, Nebraska: named for Harry Porter Deuel, a long time railroad official who resided in Omaha, NE
* Deuel County, South Dakota
Deuel County ( ) is a county in the U.S. ...
, parallel to the
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. It ...
and
US 138. Its only interchange is at
I-80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
, formerly numbered exit 102 based on I-80's mileage, now renumbered as exit 3 based on I-76's mileage.
History
Until 1974, both the segment of I-76 in Colorado and Nebraska and a portion of
I-76 in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey were signed as Interstate 80S (I-80S). In July 1974, the already-completed route, I-80S, was renumbered to I-76 in accordance with
(AASHTO) policy to remove the letter suffixes from Interstate routes and to avoid the confusion of this route with
I-80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
.
This prompted the replacement of around 488 signs in eliminating .
The number 76 has an association with 1876, the year Colorado was admitted as a state.
Nebraska renumbered its existing
Nebraska Highway 76 (N-76) to
N-53 as a result.
I-76 was conceived in August 1958. The Colorado portion was planned and built first. In December 1969, the
Nebraska Department of Roads
The Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) was the state government agency charged with building and maintaining the state and federal highways in the U.S. State of Nebraska from 1957 to 2017. The main headquarters of the agency was located in Linc ...
(NDOR) worked together with the
Colorado Department of Highways to open a route connecting I-80 with the rest of I-80S in Colorado.
The original western terminus of I-76 was at
I-25
Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...
, as planned. The western extension to
I-70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the c ...
was built in the late 1980s and early 1990s. By its completion in November 2002, the total cost was about $45.5 million (equivalent to $ in ).
In 1968, I-25 and
US 85 were open to the general traffic to the
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
vicinity after all the structures located throughout the route were completed, as well as meeting the criteria of the
Interstate standards. Structures connected several interchanges; each one connecting
I-270, US 85, Dahlia Street, Washington Street, 74th Avenue, and York Street. The completion also included structures in which each cross the
Burlington Canal,
Platte River
The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itsel ...
, and
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
. By October 24, 1970, the route was open to traffic from
Sedgwick to
Julesburg, as well as the completion of the route, connecting from its western terminus of I-25 in Colorado to its eastern terminus at I-80 near
Big Springs, Nebraska
Big Springs is a village in Deuel County, Nebraska, Deuel County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 400 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census.
History
The first name of the settlement was "Lone Tree", after a large cottonwood t ...
.
Beginning in 1990, were planned and constructed west of I-25. By October 2002, all of I-76 was open, and the highway reached its current western terminus at I-70 in
Arvada
Arvada () is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States Census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 residing in Adams Cou ...
.
Exit list
Business routes
Keenesburg
Interstate 76 Business (I-76 Bus) is an unsigned business spur that connects Keenesburg, Colorado, in
Weld County
Weld County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 328,981. The county seat is Greeley.
Weld County comprises the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Denver ...
to the Interstate. Inventoried by the
Colorado 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 ...
(CDOT), the route begins at the I-76 frontage road (County Road 398) within the town limits and heads north as Market Street. The route terminates north of I-76 exit 39.
Major intersections
Fort Morgan–Sterling
Interstate 76 Business (I-76 Bus) is a business route of I-76 serving Fort Morgan, Colorado, and adjacent areas to Sterling in
Morgan and
Logan counties. This route is the longest continuously signed Interstate business loop in the system. It begins at exit 75 at I-76 west of Fort Morgan. The route overlaps
US 34 and
SH 52 heading east and becomes W Platte Avenue. After intersecting Sherman Street, SH 52 turns North on Main Street and the route becomes East Platte Avenue, only overlapping US 34. After crossing County Road 21, the route is only assigned as US 34. Entering
Brush, the route becomes Edison Street and passes toward the south of town, remaining parallel with the Interstate. Intersecting Colorado Avenue, the route starts overlapping
SH 71. SH 71 goes south after the route exits Brush. Then, I-76 Bus comes across a minor
Y interchange
In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, usi ...
and US 34 continues east while the business loop proceeds northeast. It interchanges with I-76 again at a partial cloverleaf interchange and starts overlapping
US 6. It passes through unincorporated Camden and then enters
Hillrose as Railway Street. It remains signed with US 6 after crossing County Road 3305. It remains almost parallel with the Interstate until it approaches the Prewitt Reservoir, where it turns north through Beta and into
Merino
The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...
, becoming Platte Street between Ram Avenue and Logan Avenue. The route continues northeast into
Atwood and intersects
SH 63, becoming Front Avenue toward 7th Street, remaining concurrent with US 6. The route then enters
Sterling, becoming a
one-way street
One-way traffic (or uni-directional traffic) is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction. One-way streets typical ...
between South 3rd Avenue and South Division Avenue, where the route becomes a two-lane road, turns north, and then becomes South 3rd Street. The route turns to the southeast at Chestnut Street and exits town. I-76 Bus meets I-76 and terminates there at a diamond interchange at exit 125, and US 6 continues east past the Interstate.
Major intersections
References
External links
Colorado I-76
{{DEFAULTSORT:Interstate 76 (Colorado-Nebraska)
Interstate 76
76 west
76
76
Transportation in Colorado
Transportation in Jefferson County, Colorado
Transportation in Adams County, Colorado
Transportation in Weld County, Colorado
Transportation in Morgan County, Colorado
Transportation in Washington County, Colorado
Transportation in Logan County, Colorado
Transportation in Sedgwick County, Colorado
Transportation in Deuel County, Nebraska
Arvada, Colorado
U.S. Route 6
Eastern Plains