State Highway 257 (SH 257) is an state highway in 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 ...

Weld County Weld County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 328,981. The county seat is Greeley. Weld County comprises the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Denver ...

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 ...

, United States, that connects Colorado State Highway 60 (SH 60) in Milliken with

Colorado State Highway 14 State Highway 14 (SH 14) in the U.S. state of Colorado is an east–west state highway approximately long. One of the longest state highways in Colorado, it traverses four counties along the northern edge of the state, spanning a geography from t ...

(SH 14) on the northestern corner of

Severance Severance may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Severance'' (film), a 2006 British horror film * ''Severance'' (novel), a 2018 novel by Ling Ma *''Severance'', a 2006 short-story collection by Robert Olen Butler * ''Severance'' (TV series), a ...

Route description

SH 257 begins at a junction with SH 60 and County Road 21 in northwest of central Milliken, a town in central Weld County. It then heads northward, crosses the

Big Thompson River The Big Thompson River is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately 78 miles (123 km) long, in the U.S. state of Colorado. Originating in Forest Canyon in Rocky Mountain National Park, the river flows into Lake Estes in the town ...

, a tributary of the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. It ...

then enters Greeley. At Greeley, SH 257 has two

interchanges Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

: one with U.S. Route 34 (US 34) and one with U.S. Route 34 Business (US 34 Bus.). Because the junction with US 34 Bus. is so close to its terminus, the two interchanges are just apart. Both are

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 ...

s, but only the US 34 intersection has complete access. SH 257 then heads northward, and begins to curve northwest over the

Cache la Poudre River The Cache la Poudre River ( ), also known as the Poudre River, is a river in the state of Colorado in the United States. Name The name of the river () is a corruption of the original Cache à la Poudre, or "cache of powder". It refers to an ...

and into

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

. It abruptly turns west and begins a concurrency with intersects Colorado State Highway 392 (SH 392) along Main Street. About later, SH 257 turns back northward at 7th Street and ends its concurrency with SH 392. SH then heads north to SH 14, where it terminates on the town limits of northwestern Severance.

History

The route was established in 1939 with several differences. The route went north to Windsor from Milliken, then turning west to Colorado State Highway 185 (SH 185). SH 185 was then deleted and replaced with Interstate 25 (I‑25), and SH 257 was readjusted so that it went north to SH 14. The route was paved by 1954. A spur south of Windsor was eliminated a year later. The interchanges at US 24 and US 34 Bus. were built in 1998. In November 2009, a new traffic signal was installed at the intersection with Garden Drive in Windsor. The construction cost about $350,000.

Future

Because of congestion around the US 34 and US 34 Bus. interchanges, a bus rapid transit system has been planned to be built in Greeley.

Major intersections

References

External links

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257 __NOTOC__ Year 257 ( CCLVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerianus and Gallienus (or, less frequently, year 10 ...