State Highway 88 (SH 88) is a

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 Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

located within the

Denver 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 regi ...

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 so ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. Spanning , the highway travels through the

City and County of Denver Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of ...

and Arapahoe County. SH 88 begins at Colfax Avenue ( I-70 Bus.,

US 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America (a nickname shared with U.S. Route 66), is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid- ...

, 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 U.S. Route 281, US 281. The highway is broken into two segments by Ye ...

) in

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and heads south along Federal Boulevard until it reaches Belleview Avenue, where it continues east until it reaches

Interstate 25 Interstate 25 (I-25), also known as the Pan-American Freeway, is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 st ...

in the Denver Tech Center. It then continues along Arapahoe Road until it reaches eastern terminus at SH 83 (Parker Road) in

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

. SH 88 is one of the original state highways commissioned when the state highway system was formed in 1923. It originally was a continuous route that went from Belleview to Broadway and then east to Parker Road. It was extended along Quincy Avenue to serve the Lowry Field Bombing Range and was turned back after the bombing range was decommissioned. It was then rerouted on the newly built Arapahoe Road that goes from I-25 to Parker Road, making the present day route from Colfax Avenue in Denver to Parker Road in Aurora.

Route description

SH 88 is a long highway, starting at a cloverleaf intersection at

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 loca ...

(

U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America (a nickname shared with U.S. Route 66), is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid- ...

) and Federal Boulevard in Denver. It starts as a six lane highway going south with a 35 mph speed limit. It then interchanges with the 6th Avenue Freeway (

US 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6) or U.S. Highway 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the Grand Army of the Republic, American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the United States Numbere ...

) before passing through the west Denver neighborhoods. Continuing south, it interchanges at US 285's final exit as a freeway entering Sheridan. It then turns east on Belleview with three lanes in each direction and a 40 mph speed limit. It passes under

US 85 U.S. Route 85 (US 85) is a north–south United States Highway that travels in the Mountain and Northern Plains states of the United States. The southern terminus of the highway is at the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, connecting w ...

and goes through another neighborhood with two lanes in each direction approaching Greenwood Village. The route enters the Denver Tech Center and becomes concurrent with

from exit 199 to exit 197 at Arapahoe Road. SH-88 continues east with a 40 mph speed limit on Arapahoe Road with three lanes in each direction passing through

Centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

and north of Centennial Airport with a 55 mph speed limit until it reaches its eastern terminus at Parker Road ( State Highway 83) in Foxfield.

History

SH 88 is an original 1920's highway that originally ran along Belleview from Broadway to Parker Road in Greenwood Village. In 1939, it was extended east along Quincy Avenue into the now defunct Lowry Field Bombing Range until 1954, when the bombing range was decommissioned. The western extension to Santa Fe (US 85) was completed by 1956. In 1959, the section along Arapahoe road was added, originally as a gravel road and it wasn't paved until 1961. The section of Federal Blvd in Sheridan was originally signed as SH 75 and was renumbered to SH 88 in 1968. Arapahoe Road didn't become an expressway until it was built east to Peoria Street in 1977 and the final stretch to SH 83 (Parker Rd.) wasn't finished until 1990. The intersection of Arapahoe Road and Parker Road used to have a triple left going from eastbound to northbound and was one of the most congested intersections in the Denver Metro Area. It was later upgraded to an interchange where Parker Road now continues north without stopping. The interchange was completed in 2012.

Major intersections

Notes

References

External links

*
Colorado Routes, Highway 88
{{Attached KML, display=inline, title 088 Transportation in Denver Transportation in Arapahoe County, Colorado Englewood, Colorado Greenwood Village, Colorado Transportation in Aurora, Colorado