U.S. Route 287 in Colorado

U.S. Route 287
Map of Colorado with US 287 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by CDOT
Length:	385.22 mi[1] (619.95 km)
Major junctions
South end:	US-287 / US-385 at the Oklahoma state line
	US 160 in Springfield US 50 / US 385 in Lamar I-70 in Limon I-25 / US 85 in Denver US 34 in Loveland
North end:	US 287 at the Wyoming state line
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Bannered Divided Replaced Colorado State Highways Interstate U.S. State Scenic ← US 285 SH 291 →

U.S. Route 287 (US 287) is the portion of a north-south highway in Colorado that travels from the Oklahoma state line just south of Campo to the Wyoming state line north of Fort Collins.

Route description

View south along U.S. Highway 287 in Larimer County, Colorado

Heading from the Oklahoma border, US 287 and US 385, upon entering the state, pass through Campo, and make an interchange with US 160 south of Springfield. In Lamar and Carlton, the highways split at an interchange with US 50, where US 287 continues north, this time concurrent with US 50. Just outside the town the highways make a sharp turn toward the west, and the road heading north is SH 196. South of Wiley, US 50 heads west, while US 287 turns north toward Wiley. East of Eads, Colorado US 287 turns toward the west again, briefly merging with SH 96. In Eads SH 96 continues west, while US 287 moves north. Just east of Kit Carson, US 287 again turns toward the west and merges with US 40. East of Limon, the two highways make two interchanges with I-70 before entering Limon. After a brief concurrency with US 24, the two highways merge with I-70. Near the outskirts of Aurora US 36 merges with the group of highways as well.

Just past E-470, I-70 and US 36 split to follow a more northerly course, while US 287 and US 40 continue west into Downtown Denver on Colfax Avenue. The I-25, US 6, US 87, and US 85 interchange marks US 287's second junction with its parent route, US 87. Shortly thereafter, at a cloverleaf interchange with Federal Boulevard, SH 88 runs south, US 40 continues west, and US 287 turns north on Federal Boulevard. After crossing I-76 and then US 36 for a second time, US 287 turns west onto 120th Avenue where it overlaps SH 128. Just before meeting US 36 again in Broomfield, US 287 bends back to the north, leaving CO 128 to continues west. At Baseline Road in Lafayette, SH 7 joins US 287 for about a mile, before it splits to the west on Arapahoe Avenue towards Boulder. US 287 intersects SH 119 as it enters Longmont on the very busy Main Street, then intersects SH 66 at the north edge of town. The road bypasses Berthoud en route to Loveland, where US 287 splits into the pair of one-way streets. US 287 passes through Fort Collins on College Avenue, merging with SH 14 at Jefferson Street. On the edge of the mountains, SH 14 splits and heads west into Poudre Canyon, while US 287 continues north into Wyoming. The section of US 287 between Fort Collins, Colorado and Laramie, Wyoming carries very heavy truck traffic and was once considered dangerous.^[2]

History

The original US 287 only traveled from Denver past the Wyoming state line in 1935. In 1940, US 287 was expanded past the Oklahoma state line (to Port Arthur, Texas), replacing US 285.

After the head-on crash in 2001, there were people lobbying for a widening of US 287 at the Wyoming state line. Their request was answered in April 2009.^[2] Throughout 2012, the highway was expanded to three lanes north of Fort Collins, was resurfaced, and contained shoulders to prevent such accidents.^[1]

Junction list

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Oklahoma state line		0.000	0.000	US-287 south / US-385 south – Boise City	Continuation into Oklahoma
Baca	Springfield	28.777	46.312	US 160 – Trinidad, Johnson City
Prowers	​	40.772	65.616	SH 116 – Two Buttes, Lycan
	Lamar	77.639	124.948	US 50 east / US 385 north – Granada	Northern end of US 385 overlap; southern end of US 50 overlap
	​	79.530	127.991	To SH 196 – Bristol
	​	85.188– 85.451	137.097– 137.520	US 50 west – La Junta	Interchange; northern end of US 50 overlap
	Wiley	87.371	140.610	SH 196 – Kornman, McClave
Kiowa	​	110.590	177.977	SH 96 east – Sheridan Lake	Southern end of SH 96 overlap
	Eads	113.420	182.532	SH 96 west – Haswell	Northern end of SH 96 overlap
Cheyenne	Kit Carson	133.240	214.429	US 40 – Cheyenne Wells	Southern end of US 40 overlap
				SH 59 – Seibert
	Aroya			SH 94 – Colorado Springs
Lincoln	Hugo			CR 109	Former SH 109 south
				CR 109	Former SH 109 north
	​			I-70 / US 24 – Salina	Southern end of US 24 overlap; I-70 exit 363
	Limon			I-70 – Limon Municipal Airport	I-70 exit 361
				SH 71 – Brush	Southern end of SH 71 overlap
				SH 71 – Ordway	Northern end of SH 71 overlap
				US 24 – Colorado Springs	Northern end of US 24 overlap
				I-70	Southern end of I-70 overlap; I-70 exit 359
See I-70
Arapahoe–Adams county line	Aurora			I-70 / US 36 – Denver	Northern end of I-70 overlap; I-70 exit 288
Adams	No major junctions
Arapahoe	Aurora			I-225 – Denver	I-225 exit 10
City and County of Denver				SH 2 – Brighton
				I-25 / US 6 / US 87 – Colorado Springs, Loveland, Grand Junction, Sterling	I-25 exit 210A
				US 40 / SH 88 – Steamboat Springs	Interchange; northern end of US 40 overlap
				I-70 – Aurora, Grand Junction	I-70 exit 272
Adams	Berkley			I-76 – Arvada, Sterling	I-76 exit 3
	Westminster			US 36 – Boulder
City and County of Broomfield				SH 128	Southern end of SH 128 overlap
				SH 128 to US 36 to SH 121 – Eldorado Springs, Boulder
				Northwest Parkway	Northwest Parkway exit 52
Boulder	Lafayette			SH 42 – Louisville
				SH 7 – Brighton	Southern end of SH 7 overlap
	​			SH 7 – Boulder	Northern end of SH 7 overlap
	​			SH 52 – Niwot, Dacono, Fort Lupton
	Longmont			SH 119 – Boulder
				SH 66 – Lyons, Platteville
Larimer	Berthoud			SH 56
	Berthoud–Campion line			First Street	Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Campion			SH 60 – Johnstown
	Loveland			SH 402
				US 34 – Granby, Greeley
	Fort Collins			SH 392
				SH 14 – Ault	Southern end of SH 14 overlap
				SH 1 – Wellington
	​			US 287 Bus. – Laporte
	​			US 287 Bus. – Laporte
	​			SH 14 – Gould	Northern end of SH 14 overlap
Wyoming state line				US 287 north – Laramie	Continuation into Wyoming
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

1. "Colorado US 287". Retrieved February 12, 2016.
2. The Associated Press (April 19, 2009). "Wyo begins widening 287". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved August 22, 2016.

External links