State Highway 91 (SH 91) is a stretch of
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
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 ...
. SH 91's southern terminus is at
U.S. Route 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 ...
(US 24) in
Leadville
The City of Leadville is a statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,602 at the 2010 census and an estimated ...
, and the northern terminus is at
Interstate 70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...
(I-70) at
Copper Mountain.
Route description
begins at an
intersection with
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 ...
in Leadville. It travels to the northeast over
Fremont Pass, passing the
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
of
Climax
Climax may refer to:
Language arts
* Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work
* Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance
Biology
* Climax community, a biological community th ...
, home of the recently reopened
Climax mine
The Climax mine, located in Climax, Colorado, United States, is a major molybdenum mine in Lake County, Colorado, Lake and Summit County, Colorado, Summit counties, Colorado. Shipments from the mine began in 1915. At its highest output, the Clima ...
.
ends at an
interchange with I-70 at Wheeler Junction. Since the development of the
Copper Mountain Ski Resort area, Wheeler Junction is more commonly referred to as Copper Mountain.
History
As constructed in the 1920s, State Highway 91 went from
Leadville
The City of Leadville is a statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,602 at the 2010 census and an estimated ...
, via
Climax
Climax may refer to:
Language arts
* Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work
* Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance
Biology
* Climax community, a biological community th ...
,
Fremont Pass,
Frisco, and
Loveland Pass
Loveland Pass is a high mountain pass in north-central Colorado, at an elevation of above sea level in the Rocky Mountains of the Western United States.
Background
It is located on the Continental Divide in the Front Range, west of Denver on U. ...
, to
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 ...
, where it joined
US 40
U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes wh ...
. The segment from Leadville to Climax was paved by 1936, and the entire route was paved by 1954. In 1938, route 91 became
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 ...
, until US 6 was rerouted over
Vail Pass
Vail Pass is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado. The pass was named for Charles Vail, a highway engineer and director of the Colorado State Highway Department from 1930 to 1945.
Vail Pass lies on the boundary between E ...
in 1941, leaving the portion of route 91 from
Copper Mountain (formerly Wheeler Junction) to Leadville as the surviving part of this historic highway.
[Matthew E. Salek]
Colorado Highways, Routes 80 to 99
retrieved Aug. 4, 2015.
Major intersections
See also
*
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colorado State Highway 091
091
Transportation in Lake County, Colorado
Transportation in Summit County, Colorado