U.S. Route 40 (US 40) is a part of the

U.S. Highway System The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

that travels from

Silver Summit, Utah Silver Summit is a census-designated place (CDP) in Summit County, Utah, United States. Prior to the 2010 Census, the area was designated as North Snyderville Basin CDP. The population was 1,821 at the 2000 census. Geography According to the U ...

, to

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

. In the U.S. state of Colorado, US 40 is a major east–west route. It crosses the Rocky Mountains, passing over the Continental Divide at

Berthoud Pass Berthoud Pass ( ; elevation ) is a high mountain pass in central Colorado, in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of the western United States. The pass is located west of Denver, and provides a high route between upper Clear Creek Canyon ...

before descending to the Front Range. It then traverses through the Denver Metro Area, then exits by following

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

(I-70) 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 ...

. It is concurrent with US 287 for about 145 miles to

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman, fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent and United States Army, U.S. Army officer. He became an American frontier legend in his own lifetime ...

. US 40 exits into Kansas east of

Arapahoe The Arapaho ( ; , ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho bands formed two ...

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

. At a length of almost 500 miles, US 40 is the longest numbered route in the state.

Route description

Entering

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 ...

to the south of

Dinosaur National Monument Dinosaur National Monument is an American national monument located on the southeast flank of the Uinta Mountains on the border between Colorado and Utah at the confluence of the Green River (Colorado River tributary), Green and Yampa River, Y ...

, US 40 runs east through the small town of

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

along Brontosaurus Boulevard. The route continues a generally easterly course though

Moffat Moffat is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire. Part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland, it lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. Moffat is arou ...

and Routt counties, passing through several small communities along the way. It generally follows the course of the

Yampa River The Yampa River flows through northwestern Colorado, United States. Rising in the Rocky Mountains, it is a tributary of the Green River and a major part of the Colorado River system. The Yampa is one of the few free-flowing rivers in the weste ...

. US 40 becomes Lincoln Avenue as it runs through historic downtown

Steamboat Springs, Colorado Steamboat Springs is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Routt County, Colorado, United States. The population was 13,224 at the 2020 census. Steamboat Springs is the principal city of the Ste ...

. Taking a circuitous route through

Rabbit Ears Pass Rabbit Ears Pass (el. 9426 ft, 2873 m) is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States, where U.S. Route 40 crosses the Park Range (Colorado). North of the summit is Rabbit Ears Peak which has ...

, Muddy Pass and

(crossing the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

each time) it descends the escarpment along the eastern edge of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

. Just to the east of

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

, it merges with

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, just outside Baltimore, Maryland. I-70 appr ...

for the first time. US 40 and I-70 will run concurrently numerous times across the U.S. The route leaves I-70 at exit 244, to the east of

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 2020 ...

and rejoins it again at between exits 252 and 254 in El Rancho. It parallels I-70, mostly as a

frontage road A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. Where parallel high-speed roads are provided as part of a maj ...

, until the intersection with former State Highway 26 (SH 26) to the south of Golden I-70 BL-US 40 WB-US 287 NB past York Street

Beginning in Golden, US 40 becomes

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 ...

, the main east–west thoroughfare through the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area. Along with US 40, the entire route along Colfax Avenue is cosigned as Business Loop 70. The route travels northeast through Golden, then turns due east to travel through Lakewood,

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, and

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 ...

. Among the sights to be seen along US 40 is Lake Steam Bath, once the location of a thriving health industry centered on

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

s. Also along Colfax Avenue in Denver is the Denver branch of the

United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury, Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bull ...

, which produces 50 million coins per day. US 40 rejoins I-70 at exit 288, just to the east of Aurora. At exit 359 in Limon, US 40 leaves I-70 along Main Street, which it shares with Business Loop 70,

US 24 U.S. Route 24 or U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States Numbered Highways of 1926 which runs east and west for most of its routing. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Misso ...

, and SH 71. US 40/US 287 continues to the southeast to the town of

. From there, it leaves US 287 and continues east through the towns of Cheyenne Wells and

before entering the state of Kansas.

Major intersections

State Highway 40

State Highway 40 (SH 40) represents the former two-lane alignment of US 40 in

and Elbert Counties, prior to its demotion by the then- Colorado Department of Highways when they moved the route to then new

in 1968. SH 40 begins in Arapahoe County the town of Byers at a junction with SH 36 (N Main Street/Old Highway 36), just across the railroad tracks from downtown. It heads southeast to leave Byers and travel along the flat plains of eastern Colorado for the next several miles. The highway passes through the tiny community of Peoria, where there is an interchange with

/US 40/

(exit 322), before passing by the Richmil Ranch Open Space park. SH 40 then enters the town of Deer Trail, passing along the western edge of town as 1st Avenue as it has an intersection with I-70 BS (Cedar Street). It continues southeastward across the plains to leave Deer Trail and crosses into Elbert County. The highway passes through the tiny community of

Lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

, where it has another interchange with I-70/US 40/US 287 (exit 336), before crossing a creek to enter the small town of

Agate Agate ( ) is a banded variety of chalcedony. Agate stones are characterized by alternating bands of different colored chalcedony and sometimes include macroscopic quartz. They are common in nature and can be found globally in a large number of d ...

along 1st Avenue, with SH 40 coming to an end shortly thereafter at a junction with Main Street. Main Street (as unsigned I-70 BS) leads west to an interchange with I-70/US 40/US 287 (exit 340). The entire length of SH 40 is a rural, two-lane, state highway, running parallel to both the eastbound lanes of modern I-70 to its north, as well as a railroad track to its south. SH 40 never goes beyond a half mile from the Interstate.

References

External links

Route description

Major intersections

State Highway 40

See also

References

External links