State Highway 119 (SH 119) is a state highway in north central

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 extends in a southwest to northeast direction, from a junction with

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 ...

(US 6) in

Clear Creek Canyon Clear Creek is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 25, 2011 in north central Colorado in the United States. Th ...

between

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 ...

and

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 ...

to a junction with Interstate 25 (I-25) east of

Longmont The City of Longmont is a home rule municipality located in Boulder and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. Longmont is located northeast of the county seat of Boulder and north-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. Longmont' ...

. The southwest portion of the road is a scenic mountain drive providing dramatic vistas of the

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered ...

, while the northeast portion is a busy interurban thoroughfare. The city of Boulder separates these two vastly different sections of SH 119.

Route description

Highway 119 begins at a signalized T intersection with U.S. Highway 6 in Clear Creek Canyon between

and

. It then heads north, alongside North Clear Creek, to the gambling town of

Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus uru ...

; this section of the road carries heavy traffic to the casinos of Blackhawk and

Central City In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city ...

and experiences many accidents. Colorado Front Range View from Route 119

It continues north from Blackhawk as the

Peak to Peak Scenic and Historic Byway 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 in Colorado, Interstate 70 (I-70) in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Wheat Ridge, and its northern ...

, skirting the western edge of Golden Gate Canyon State Park where it intersects State Highway 46. It continues north through the village of Mid Gilpin to Rollinsville, where it crosses over South Boulder Creek and the tracks of 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 ...

, on its way from

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 ...

to the

Moffat Tunnel The Moffat Tunnel is a railroad and water tunnel that cuts through the Continental Divide in north-central Colorado. Named after Colorado railroad pioneer David Moffat, the tunnel's first official railroad traffic passed through in February 192 ...

. East Portal Road in Rollinsville provides access to the east portal of the railroad tunnel, and to the Moffat Road historic railroad grade across

Rollins Pass Rollins Pass, elevation , is a mountain pass and active archaeological siteLaBelle, Jason M. & Pelton, Spencer R. "Communal hunting along the Continental Divide of Northern Colorado: Results from the Olson game drive (5BL147)", 2013 in the Sout ...

. SH 119 continues northward, intersecting State Highway 72 with which it will be concurrent to Nederland. It provides access to the

Eldora Mountain Resort Eldora Mountain Resort is a ski area in the southwest corner of Boulder County, Colorado, near the unincorporated community of Eldora and west of the town of Nederland. Location Eldora is one of a few Colorado ski resorts on the east side of ...

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

, about west of Nederland. In Nederland, SH 119 and SH 72 diverge at a roundabout intersection where SH 72 takes the Peak to Peak Highway designation with it to the north, and Route 119 turns to the east. Leaving Nederland, SH 119 passes along the northern shore of

Barker Meadow Reservoir Barker Reservoir is a water supply reservoir in the Colorado Front Range located near the town of Nederland, Colorado in southwestern Boulder County. Barker Dam provides water to a downstream hydroelectric power generating facility, and its r ...

and enters the scenic Boulder Canyon, alongside Boulder Creek. In the canyon, the road experiences grades of up to 10%, which can be dangerous for heavy trucks heading downhill, as it does not have a runaway truck ramp. The walls of the canyon are popular for rock climbing, and the scenic

Boulder Falls In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

is an easy walk from the highway. Colorado Route 119 and 52

At the mouth of the canyon, SH 119 suddenly enters Boulder as Canyon Boulevard, intersecting State Highway 93 at Broadway, and turning north on 28th Street where it begins concurrency with

U.S. Highway 36 U.S. Route 36 (US 36) is an east–west United States highway that travels approximately from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado to Uhrichsville, Ohio. The highway's western terminus is at Deer Ridge Junction, an intersection i ...

and with unsigned State Highway 7. This busy section of State 119 and US 36 on 28th Street serves Boulder's main shopping area. The overlap with US 36 ends at the northern edge of Boulder where US 36 continues north to Rocky Mountain National Park, and SH 119 turns east becoming Diagonal Highway. At an intersection with State Highway 157, SH 119 bends northeast, paralleling the tracks of the

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

, and becomes an expressway with a very wide median, possibly intended to accommodate a future

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

. At Niwot it passes a very large facility for the IBM Corporation at an intersection with State Highway 52. The Diagonal Highway expressway ends in

, as SH 119 becomes Ken Pratt Blvd. and intersects U.S. Highway 287. East of US 287 in Longmont, a new expressway carries SH 119 directly to its northeastern terminus at a

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...

at Interstate 25 exit 240.

History

SH 119 was established in the 1920s, extending from

to Boulder. It went up Virginia Canyon on the aptly named Oh My God Road, and then through

. This section from Idaho Springs to Blackhawk was changed to the present, easier alignment in 1938, with the southern terminus no longer in Idaho Springs but instead at a road junction with US 6 several miles to the east in Clear Creek Canyon. In 1998, the somewhat confusing triangle intersection with US 6 was simplified to a T intersection controlled by a traffic signal, and the west side of the triangle was abandoned and its tunnel boarded up. Colorado Route 119 north terminus

In 1939 SH 119 was extended from Boulder to

, zig-zagging along existing county roads. By 1960 it had been completely paved and straightened on a diagonal route (hence the name "Diagonal Highway") alongside the railroad tracks between Boulder and Longmont. When Interstate 25 was built east of Longmont by 1963, SH 119 was extended by overlapping US 287 to Third Avenue, where it replaced the previous SH 254 to connect to I-25. In 2003, a new expressway alignment for SH 119 was opened in Longmont, connecting directly from its intersection with US 287 to its terminus at I-25, bypassing the previous congested overlap with US 287.

Future

CDOT plans various safety upgrades for the section between US 6 and Blackhawk. A

is planned for the very busy intersection with SH 52 to ease the congestion at the large IBM facility.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML
Peak to Peak Scenic and Historic BywayBoulder County Transportation Master Plan (2011)

119 119 may refer to: * 119 (number), a natural number * 119 (emergency telephone number) * AD 119, a year in the 2nd century AD * 119 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 119 (album), 2012 * 119 (NCT song) *119 (Show Me the Money song) * 119 (film), a ...

Transportation in Jefferson County, Colorado Transportation in Gilpin County, Colorado Transportation in Boulder County, Colorado Transportation in Weld County, Colorado Black Hawk, Colorado Boulder, Colorado Longmont, Colorado