U.S. Highway 385 (Colorado)
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U.S. Highway 385 (US 385), also known as the High Plains Highway north of Cheyenne Wells, is the easternmost significant north–south state highway in the U.S. state of
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 ...
. It enters the state from Oklahoma while overlapped with US 287, but splits at Lamar to follow its own route through the
Eastern Plains The Eastern Plains of Colorado refers to a region of the U.S. state of Colorado east of the Rocky Mountains and east of the population centers of the Front Range. Geography The Eastern Plains are part of the High Plains, which are the wester ...
to
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 ...
.


Route description

US 385 is almost entirely a rural two-lane route. It begins at the Oklahoma state line on an overlap with US 287 (and at the west end of
Oklahoma State Highway 3 State Highway 3, also abbreviated as SH-3 or OK-3, is a highway maintained by the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Traveling diagonally through Oklahoma, from the Panhandle to the far southeastern corner of the state, SH-3 is the longest state highway i ...
) and follows US 287 north through Campo and Springfield to Lamar. In that city it turns east with US 50 through Carlton to Granada, where the route turns north and finally separates from others. Communities along the route include
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, Sheridan Lake, Cheyenne Wells,
Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...
, Wray,
Holyoke Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...
, and Julesburg. US 385 turns west with US 138 in Julesburg, splitting west of the city and running northwest to the Nebraska state line.


History

The corridor along the eastern tier of Colorado was defined as several secondary highways in the 1910s. By 1914, the following were present: Secondary Road No. 2S from Oklahoma north to
Holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...
, No. 9S from Cheyenne Wells north to
Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...
, and No. 6S from Burlington north to Wray. No. 24S from Wray north to Julesburg and No. 25S south from Granada were added by 1916, and by 1919 the corridor had been completed with the extension of No. 9S south to near Granada and the connection of No. 25S to No. 2S via No. 33S east of Two Buttes.Colorado Department of Transportation, official highway maps: 1919, 1922, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1952, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1969. As part of a renumbering in 1923, State Highway 51 (SH 51) was assigned to the route, with one major difference: SH 51 did not follow No. 2S (which mostly became SH 89), but instead went southeast from Two Buttes to Stonington and continued by replacing No. 30S ( Dallas-Canadian-Denver Highway) to the
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
state line in the direction of
Guymon, Oklahoma Guymon ( ) is a city and county seat of Texas County, in the panhandle of Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 12,965, an increase of 13.3% from 11,442 in 2010, and represents more than half of the population o ...
. (The connection in Kansas would become K-51 several years later, but the rest of the road to US 64 west of Guymon did not become Oklahoma State Highway 95 until 1953–1954.) In 1932–1934 a short extension from Julesburg north to Nebraska (mostly via present SH 11) was added to the route, taking it from border to border. At the same time, a new State Highway 166 (SH 166) was created, paralleling the
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 ...
's Overland Route from US 138 west of Julesburg northwesterly to the Nebraska line (where it connected with
Nebraska Highway 27 Nebraska Highway 27 is a highway in Nebraska. It is divided into three segments. The southernmost segment begins at the Kansas border and goes north to Haigler. The middle segment begins at Interstate 80 near Chappell and goes north to Oshko ...
). SH 51 spent its early days as an unpaved road, except from Granada north to Road KK near
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, which received "oil process surfacing" in 1931–1932 when it was still part of US 50. Otherwise, paving was begun in 1941–1942 between Holyoke and Julesburg, and was completed north of Cheyenne Wells in 1957–1958. Several major realignments were made prior to paving. US 385 was realigned north of Wray in 1937–1939, leaving behind two separate sections of County Road FF and Roads 43 and 10 returning to current US 385 south of Holyoke. Soon thereafter, in 1939–1940, US 395 was realigned to bypass Idalia and Vernon to the east, leaving behind Road 9 to Idalia (now part of US 36), Roads DD and CC between Idalia and Vernon, and Road 26 back east to current US 385. In 1953 the state got rid of a large number of state highways, including the short extension of SH 51 north of Julesburg (still unpaved), all of SH 166 (also unpaved), and the entire length of SH 51 south of Granada. Except for of SH 116 east of Two Buttes, this was given back to the counties, and is now Roads M, 49, X, and 44 from Kansas (where K-51 still exists) to
Walsh Walsh may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walsh (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Places * Fort Walsh, one of the first posts of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police * Walsh, Ontario, Norfolk ...
, Road 45 from Walsh to SH 116, and Roads 38, 21, N, 22, R, and 25 from SH 116 to Granada. All of these roads remain unpaved with the exception of of Road 44 south of Walsh. US 385 was created nationally in 1958–1959. In Colorado it followed US 287 from Oklahoma to
Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...
, US 40 east to Cheyenne Wells, SH 51 to Julesburg, and former SH 166 (paved in 1959–1960) was returned to the state highway system for the final bit into Nebraska. The remaining independent section of SH 51 was paved over the next few years and completed in 1963–1964, at which time US 385 was moved off US 287 north of Lamar. SH 51 was dropped along with other redundant state highway designations in late 1968. In the Eastern Colorado Mobility Study (2002) 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) identified US 385 as a potential connection between the Ports-to-Plains Corridor (US 287) and
Heartland Expressway The Heartland Expressway (also known as the National Highway System High Priority Corridor 14) is a federally designated High Priority Corridor between Limon, Colorado, and Rapid City, South Dakota in the US. The proposed four-lane corridor is cur ...
( SH 71 and US 385 in Nebraska). In 2004 the
Colorado General Assembly The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in the ''Colorado Revised Statutes'' (C.R.S.). The se ...
defined the High Plains Highway as that part of US 385 from Cheyenne Wells north to Nebraska, along with US 40 connecting US 287 near
Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...
with Cheyenne Wells. A more detailed study, made in 2007, recommended improving the highway to a " super 2" facility with improved roadway geometry and
shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder mak ...
s. Signs marking the High Plains Highway were posted in 2009.


Major intersections


See also

* *


References


External links


US 385
at Colorado Highways {{state detail page browse, type=US, route=385, state=Colorado, statebefore=Oklahoma, stateafter=Nebraska 3 Colorado 85-3 Transportation in Baca County, Colorado Transportation in Prowers County, Colorado Transportation in Kiowa County, Colorado Transportation in Cheyenne County, Colorado Transportation in Kit Carson County, Colorado Transportation in Yuma County, Colorado Transportation in Phillips County, Colorado Transportation in Sedgwick County, Colorado