SH 72 (CO)
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State Highway 72 (SH 72) is a state highway passing through the foothills and the eastern edge of the Front Range. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 70 (I-70) in
Wheat Ridge The City of Wheat Ridge is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Wheat Ridge is located immediately west of Denver and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The ...
, and its northern terminus is at SH 7 east of
Allenspark Allenspark is an unincorporated town, a post office, and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Allenspark po ...
.


Route description

The route is a mainly rural, scenic, mountainous highway; not having many junctions. It begins at I-70 (Exit 266) in
Wheat Ridge The City of Wheat Ridge is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Wheat Ridge is located immediately west of Denver and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The ...
as Ward Road. It continues north through the western parts of
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 Co ...
where it becomes Coal Creek Canyon Rd. The highway continues west-north-west through
Coal Creek Canyon Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dead ...
and aptly named Wondervu, across the Union Pacific Railroad tracks at Pinecliffe, eventually joining the
Peak to Peak Scenic Byway The Peak to Peak Scenic Byway is a National Forest Scenic Byway and Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway located in Gilpin, Boulder, Larimer counties, Colorado, USA. The Peak to Peak Highway was originally built in 1918 and provides views of the ...
northbound. For three miles along the ''Byway'' it coincides with SH 119. The two routes diverge at Nederland. From Nederland, SH 72 continues north along the ''Byway'' past Ward to its terminus with SH 7 east of
Allenspark Allenspark is an unincorporated town, a post office, and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Allenspark po ...
.


History

The route was established in the 1920s, when it began at 46th Avenue in Denver and headed northwest to Nederland. The section of the present-day SH 72 north of Nederland was designated as SH 160. By 1936, the southeastern terminus had been moved to
SH 58 The following highways are numbered 58: International * European route E58 Australia * Riverina Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 58 * Highway 58 (Ontario) * Saskatchewan Highway 58 Finland * Finnish national road 58 India * National Highway ...
, itself since relocated. The section from SH 93 east was paved by 1946, and the route was paved entirely by 1958. In 1968, SH 160 was deleted and SH 72 took the route from Nederland to Raymond.


Major intersections


References


External links

* Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT): Colorado Scenic Byways - Peak To Peak Highway {{DEFAULTSORT:Colorado State Highway 072 072 Transportation in Jefferson County, Colorado Transportation in Boulder County, Colorado Transportation in Gilpin County, Colorado Wheat Ridge, Colorado Arvada, Colorado