U.S. Route 40 (US 40) is a part of the

U.S. Highway System 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 ...

that travels from

Silver Summit, Utah Silver Summit is a census-designated place (CDP) in Summit County, Utah, United States. Prior to the 2010 Census, the area was designated as North Snyderville Basin CDP. The population was 1,821 at the 2000 census. Geography According to the Un ...

, to Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the U.S. state of Colorado, US 40 is a major east–west route. It crosses the Rocky Mountains, passing over the Continental Divide at

Berthoud Pass Berthoud Pass ( ; elevation ) is a high mountain pass in central Colorado, in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of the western United States. The pass is located west of Denver, and provides a high route between upper Clear Creek Canyon ...

before descending to the Front Range. It then traverses through the Denver Metro Area, then exits by following

Interstate 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 co ...

(I-70) and

US 287 U.S. Route 287 (US 287) is a north–south (physically northwest–southeast) United States highway. At long, it is the second longest three-digit U.S. Route, behind US 281. It serves as the major truck route between Fort Worth and A ...

. It is concurrent with US 287 for about 145 miles 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 exits into Kansas east of

Arapahoe The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

. At a length of almost 500 miles, US 40 is the longest numbered route in the state.

Route description

Entering

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 ...

to the south of Dinosaur National Monument, US 40 runs east through the small town of

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

along Brontosaurus Boulevard. The route continues a generally easterly course though

Moffat Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. ...

and Routt counties, passing through several small communities along the way. It generally follows the course of the

Yampa River The Yampa River flows through northwestern Colorado in the United States. Rising in the Rocky Mountains, it is a tributary of the Green River and a major part of the Colorado River system. The Yampa is one of the few free-flowing rivers in the ...

. US 40 becomes Lincoln Avenue as it runs through historic downtown Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The Library of Congress - (View along US 40 in Mount Vernon Canyon, Colorado) (LOC)

The Library of Congress - (View along US 40 in Mount Vernon Canyon, Colorado) (LOC)

Taking a circuitous route through Rabbit Ears Pass,

Muddy Pass Muddy Pass may refer to: * Muddy Pass (Continental Divide) Muddy Pass (el. 8772 ft.) is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States. The pass straddles the continental divide along the boundary betw ...

and

(crossing the Continental Divide each time) it descends the escarpment along the eastern edge of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

. Just to the east of

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, it merges 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 ...

for the first time. US 40 and I-70 will run concurrently numerous times across the U.S. The route leaves I-70 at exit 244, to the east of

Idaho Springs The City of Idaho Springs is the Statutory City that is the most populous municipality in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. Idaho Springs is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 ...

and rejoins it again at between exits 252 and 254 in El Rancho. It parallels I-70, mostly as a

frontage road A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. A frontage road is often used to provide access to private drive ...

, until the intersection with former State Highway 26 (SH 26) to the south of

Golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

I-70 BL-US 40 WB-US 287 NB past York Street

Beginning in Golden, US 40 becomes

Colfax Avenue Colfax Avenue is the main street that runs east–west through the Denver metropolitan area in Colorado. As U.S. Highway 40, it was one of two principal highways serving Denver before the Interstate Highway System was constructed. In the local ...

, the main east–west thoroughfare through the

Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area Denver is the central city of a conurbation region in the U.S. state of Colorado. The conurbation includes one continuous region consisting of the six central counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson. The Denver r ...

. Along with US 40, the entire route along Colfax Avenue is cosigned as Business Loop 70. The route travels northeast through Golden, then turns due east to travel through Lakewood,

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 ...

, and

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

. Among the sights to be seen along US 40 is Lake Steam Bath, once the location of a thriving health industry centered on

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

s. Also along Colfax Avenue in Denver is the Denver branch of the

United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...

, which produces 50 million coins per day. US 40 rejoins I-70 at exit 288, just to the east of Aurora. At exit 359 in Limon, US 40 leaves I-70 along Main Street, which it shares with Business Loop 70,

US 24 U.S. Route 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Missouri, in the west. Today, the highway's eastern terminus is in Independence Township, Mic ...

, and SH 71. US 40/US 287 continues to the southeast to the town of

. From there, it leaves US 287 and continues east through the towns of Cheyenne Wells and

before entering the state of Kansas.

Major intersections

State Highway 40

State Highway 40 (SH 40) represents the former two-lane alignment of US 40 in

and Elbert Counties, prior to its moving to then new

, which occurred in 1968. SH 40 begins in Arapahoe County the town of Byers at a junction with SH 36 (N Main Street/Old Highway 36), just across the railroad tracks from downtown. It heads southeast to leave Byers and travel along the flat plains of eastern Colorado for the next several miles. The highway passes through the tiny community of Peoria, where there is an interchange with

/US 40/

(exit 322), before passing by the Richmil Ranch Open Space park. SH 40 then enters the town of

Deer Trail The Town of Deer Trail is a Statutory Town located in eastern Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,068 at the 2020 United States Census, a +95.60% increase since the 2010 United States Census. Deer Trail is a part ...

, passing along the western edge of town as 1st Avenue as it has an intersection with I-70 BS (Cedar Street). It continues southeastward across the plains to leave Deer Trail and cross in Elbert County. The highway passes through the tiny community of

Lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of p ...

, where it has another interchange with I-70/US 40/US 287 (exit 336), before crossing a creek to enter the small town of

Agate Agate () is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Anci ...

along 1st Avenue, with SH 40 coming to an end shortly thereafter at a junction with Main Street. Main Street (as unsigned I-70 BS) leads west to an interchange with I-70/US 40/US 287 (exit 340). The entire length of SH 40 is a rural, two-lane, state highway, running parallel to both the eastbound lanes of modern I-70 to its north, as well as a railroad track to its south. SH 40 never goes beyond a half mile from the Interstate.

References

External links

Route description

Major intersections

State Highway 40

See also

References

External links