U.S. Highway 138 (US 138), commissioned in 1926, is an east–west

U.S. Highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the 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 western edge of t ...

and

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 southwe ...

that travels predominantly northeast to southwest, paralleling 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 Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sout ...

and Interstate 76 (I-76). Similarly to the spurs of the former US 66 and US 99, US 138 is an orphan route. US 38 was commissioned in 1926, but US 6 was extended over it to

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

(but was truncated to

Bishop, California Bishop (formerly Bishop Creek) is a city in California, United States. It is the largest populated place and only incorporated city in Inyo County. Bishop is located near the northern end of the Owens Valley, at an elevation of . The city was na ...

in 1964). Therefore, US 138 still meets its former parent route's path.

Route description

Colorado

U.S. 138 begins in Sterling at U.S. 6 and Business Loop 76. It goes northeast and intersects

Colorado State Highway 113 State Highway 113 (SH 113) is an state highway in northeastern Colorado. It runs from U.S. Highway 138 (US 138) in rural Logan County north to Nebraska Highway 19 (N-19) at the Nebraska state line. Route description SH 113 begins at a ju ...

southwest of Iliff. It becomes more easterly as it goes through Iliff,

Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

and

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 ...

, where it intersects

Colorado State Highway 55 State Highway 55 (SH 55) is a long state highway in the U.S. state of Colorado. SH 55's southern terminus is at County Route 51 northeast of Fleming, and the northern terminus is at SH 138 in Crook. It serves as a connector between Crook an ...

. It continues on to Sedgwick, where it meets

Colorado State Highway 59 State Highway 59 (SH 59) is a state highway in eastern Colorado. SH 59's southern terminus is at U.S. Route 40 (US 40) and US 287 in Kit Carson, and the northern terminus is at US 138 in Sedgwick. Route description SH 59 begins in ...

. After passing through

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

, it then meets

U.S. Highway 385 U.S. Route 385 (US 385) is a spur of U.S. Route 85 that runs for 1,206 miles (1,941 km) from Deadwood, South Dakota to Big Bend National Park in Texas. Route description , - , TX , 545 , 877 , - , OK , 36 , 58 , - , CO , 317 , 510 ...

west of Julesburg, and they overlap into Julesburg. Also in Julesburg, U.S. 138 intersects

Colorado State Highway 11 State Highway 11 (SH 11) is a long north–south state highway in the United States, U.S. state of Colorado. It runs from U.S. Route 138 in Colorado, U.S. Highway 138 (US 138) and U.S. Route 385 in Colorado, US 385 in Julesburg, Colo ...

. U.S. 138 then leaves Julesburg going northeast and enters Nebraska.

Nebraska

Shortly after entering Nebraska, U.S. 138 intersects

Interstate 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 ...

. It continues east from I-80 and enters Big Springs. At Big Springs, U.S. 138 turns north and ends at

U.S. Highway 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

History

The western terminus is in

Sterling, Colorado Sterling is a home rule municipality and the county seat and most populous municipality of Logan County, Colorado, United States. Sterling is the principal city of the Sterling, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city population was 13,753 a ...

, where it met

U.S. Route 38 38 may refer to: *38 (number), the natural number following 37 and preceding 39 *one of the years 38 BC, AD 38, 1938, 2038 *.38, a caliber of firearms and cartridges **.38 Special, a revolver cartridge *'' Thirty-Eight: The Hurricane That Transfor ...

from 1926 to 1931 (US 38 became

U.S. Route 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 P ...

); the eastern terminus is at

U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

north of

Big Springs, Nebraska Big Springs is a village in Deuel County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 400 at the 2010 census. History The first name of the settlement was "Lone Tree", after a large cottonwood tree standing alone on the prairie near the town. ...

. US 138 is an example of a "child" route that has long outlived its "parent"; before

U.S. Route 99 U.S. Route 99 (US 99) was a main north–south United States Numbered Highway on the West Coast of the United States until 1964, running from Calexico, California, on the US–Mexico border to Blaine, Washington, on the U.S.-Canada border ...

was decommissioned in 1964, US 138 was the only US route to not have a "parent" route.

Major intersections

References

External links

Endpoints of U.S. Highway 138
* ttp://nebraskaroads.com/roads/usroutes/136-183.html#138 Nebraska Roads: Nebraska US Highways 136-183 {{s-end 38-1 38-1 38-1 1 38 Transportation in Logan County, Colorado Transportation in Sedgwick County, Colorado Transportation in Deuel County, Nebraska