Now in Arapahoe County, the first exit along northbound Interstate 25/U.S. 87 is Exit 196, Dry Creek Road. Arapahoe County is perhaps best known as being the "first county." This dates back to territorial days, when a good portion of what is now the state of Colorado originally was Arapahoe County of the Kansas territory. When Colorado Territory was formed in 1861, Arapahoe County was named one of 17 original counties. This county In fact, at the time of Colorado statehood, Arapahoe County covered much of metropolitan Denver, and Denver was the county seat for a time. However, the county was parceled out to a configuration more similar to today's city and county government in 1902. Photo taken 08/29/04.
The next exit along northbound Interstate 25/U.S. 87 is Exit 197, Junction Colorado 88 east/Arapahoe Road, one mile. Colorado 88 merges onto Interstate 25 westbound until Exit 199, and the state route was clearly cosigned with Interstate 25 until the arrival of the T-Rex project; now it is unclear if the cosignage will remain. Use Arapahoe Road east to Algonquin Acres, southeastern Aurora (Valley Country Club), and Foxfield. At the time this photo was taken, the section of Interstate 25 between Colorado 470 and U.S. 85/Santa Fe Drive was under construction as part of the T-Rex project, hence why only temporary signs were in place on northbound. Dry Creek Road is one of the major east-west arterials in southern Arapahoe County; the southernmost east-west arterial is County Line Road. Use Dry Creek Road west to Hunter's Hill and east to Inverness Golf Course. Photo taken 11/10/03.
This mileage sign along northbound Interstate 25/U.S. 87 provides the distance to Exit 197, Colorado 88 east/Orchard Road; Exit 198, Orchard Road; and Exit 199, Colorado 88 west/Belleview Avenue. Photo taken 11/10/03.
Northbound Interstate 25/U.S. 87 reaches Exit 197, Junction Colorado 88 east/Arapahoe Road. Again note the change in signage as a result of the T-Rex project. Use Arapahoe Road west to Greenwood Plaza and Fiddler's Green (concert venue) as well as the unincorporated communities of Walnut Hills, Homestead, and Southglenn. However, Interstate 25/U.S. 87 now enter the city of Greenwood Village, which is home to 14,055 people as of a 2004 estimate. This is an area with a wide variety of employers, as a 2004 estimate indicates that 52,982 people work in Greenwood Village. Photo taken 11/10/03.
The next three exits along northbound Interstate 25/U.S. 87 are Exit 198, Orchard Road; Exit 199, Junction Colorado 88 west/Belleview Avenue; and Exit 200, Junction Interstate 225. The freeway continues to gain urban characteristics, including additional lanes and more development alongside the freeway. Photo taken 11/10/03.
Northbound Interstate 25/U.S. 87/Colorado 88 approaches Orchard Road (Exit 198). This sign is two miles south of the Interstate 225 junction, which is displayed on this mileage sign in text rather than with an Interstate shield. Compare this mileage sign to the one shown in the previous photobox -- the distance to Belleview Avenue is unchanged, while the distances to the other two interchanges is 0.25 mile less. By August 2004, this mileage sign was removed, leaving only the guide sign for Orchard Road. Photo taken 11/10/03.
Northbound Interstate 25/U.S. 87/Colorado 88 reaches the Orchard Road interchange at Exit 198. The following exit (as shown in 2002 photo) is Exit 199, Colorado 88/Belleview Avenue. Note the difference between the 2003 and 2002 sign assemblies. This area is known as the Denver Tech Center, and the buildings in the distance are part of that office cluster. Photos taken 11/10/03 and 02/02/02.
Northbound Interstate 25/U.S. 87 approaches Exit 199, Junction West Colorado 88/Belleview Avenue, 1.25 miles. From here, Colorado 88 will follow Belleview Avenue west to Federal Boulevard, then take Federal Boulevard into Denver, ending at the junction with U.S. 40, U.S. 287, and Business Loop I-70 (Colfax Avenue). Photo taken 08/29/04.
Northbound Interstate 25/U.S. 87 and Westbound Colorado 88 approaches the interchange where Colorado 88 splits from the freeway to the west via Belleview Avenue. This mileage sign provides the distance to Belleview Avenue (Colorado 88), Interstate 25, and Hampden Avenue (U.S. 285 and Colorado 30). The construction to the right is related to widening as a result of the T-Rex project. Photo taken 08/29/04.
This new overhead sign was erected as part of the T-Rex project for the west Colorado 88/Belleview Avenue exit (Exit 199). The right lane will become exit only for the connection to Belleview Avenue, but it was not set up for that at the time this photo was taken. Belleview Avenue east leads to Sundance Hills and Cherry Creek Vista, ending in Cherry Creek State Park. To the west, Belleview Avenue follows the north edge of Greenwood Village and the southern edge of Cherry Hills Village before entering the soutehrn edge of Englewood and the city of Littleton (where it meets U.S. 85). Federal Boulevard begins in Littleton at the intersection with Federal Boulevvard. Photo taken 11/10/03.
Northbound Interstate 25 reaches Exit 199, Junction Colorado 88 west and Belleview Avenue. This sign bridge was removed as part of T-Rex. Interstate 25/U.S. 87 now enters Denver County. Exit 200, three-quarters of a mile beyond this exit, is for Junction Interstate 225, which provides an alternate route to the east of downtown Denver. It is also one of two routes from the southern areas of Denver to the Denver International Airport, and it is a better route to connect to eastbound Interstate 70. The control city of Limon for northbound Interstate 225 is the same as eastbound Interstate 70, even though Interstate 225 would be more correctly signed as going to Aurora, a suburb north and east of Denver. However, since the signage is geared toward motorists looking to use Interstate 225 as a bypass to get to Interstate 70 eastbound, the Limon control city is used here. Photo taken 02/02/02.
