Interstate 25 North - Denver - AARoads

North

U.S. 285 converges with Interstate 25 from the west at Exit 201. U.S. 285 originates in Texas, then heads north via Santa Fe, New Mexico, into Colorado. U.S. 285 concludes at the exchange with I-25, opposite the beginning of SH 30 east along Hampden Avenue.
04/22/17

I-25 follows a linear route northwest from I-225 to Exit 201.
04/22/17

U.S. 285 (Hampden Avenue) upgrades to an expressway west of U.S. 85 in Sheridan and a freeway from Bear Valley in southwest Denver to the C-470 beltway at Lakewood.
04/22/17

Exit 201 parts ways with Interstate 25 north for U.S. 285 south and SH 30 (Hampden Avenue) east.
04/22/17

04/22/17

SH 30 runs east to the Denver neighborhoods of Hampden and Hampden South, as well as the city of Aurora via a 90 degree turn onto Havana Street northbound. SH 30 makes a horseshoe shaped route east to end alongside the E-470 toll road on Gun Club Road.
04/22/17

U.S. 285 along Hampden Avenue varies from a five lane boulevard to six lane parkway west from I-25 to the Wellshire neighborhood in Denver, Cherry Hills Village and SH 177 (University Boulevard) south from Englewood.
06/29/08

Interstate 25 runs alongside residential areas of University Heights to a diamond interchange (Exit 202) with Yale Avenue.
04/22/17

Yale Avenue leads west from Exit 202 to University Park and SH 2 (Colorado Boulevard) and east through an island of unincorporated Arapahoe Island to James A Bible Park.
04/22/17

Evans Avenue crosses Interstate 25 along a commercial strip west to SH 2 (Colorado Boulevard) and east between the Goldsmith and Virginia Village neighborhoods in one mile.
04/22/17

04/22/17

One quarter mile ahead of the diamond interchange (Exit 203) with Evans Avenue. Evans Avenue runs west to Denver University and Chamberlain Observatory, while eastbound Evans Avenue connects with Iliff Avenue.
04/22/17

Turning westerly from Evans Avenue, Interstate 25 quickly reaches Exit 204 for SH 2 (Colorado Boulevard).
04/22/17

Exit 204 is a slip ramp onto a distributor roadway from Evans Avenue to SH 2.
04/22/17

Colorado Boulevard doubles as SH 2 north from U.S. 285 (Hampden Avenue) on the city line north across Denver to Glendale and Commerce City.
04/22/17

A pedestrian arch bridge spans Interstate 25 to RTD Colorado Station.
04/22/17

Per a 1957 Gousha map, Colorado Boulevard carried U.S. 87 north from the Valley Highway (I-25), which was incomplete between University Boulevard and Colfax Avenue, to Colfax Avenue (U.S. 36-40-287). Colfax Avenue took all four routes west to Park Avenue, where U.S. 87 turned north alongside U.S. 287 to rejoin Valley Highway via 23rd and Fox Streets.
04/22/17

04/22/17

Advancing west, I-25 passes between the Cory-Merrill and University Park neighborhoods ahead of the single point urban interchange (Exit 205) with University Boulevard. SH 177 follows the four lane boulevard north to U.S. 285 at Englewood, and historically extended to Valley Highway.
04/22/17

The campus of Denver University lies just south of Exit 205 along University Boulevard. The Steele Street overpass here was one of many bridges replaced during 2002-04 construction during the T-REX project.
06/30/08

University Boulevard runs north along the Washington Park and Belcaro neighborhoods to Denver Country Club golf course and Cherry Creek Shopping Center at 1st Avenue.
04/22/17

Curving north by Veterans Park, I-25 next reaches a distributor roadway (Exit 206) for Downing Street, Emerson Street and Washington Street.
04/22/17

The succeeding exits from I-25 north serve the Platt Park and Washington Park West neighborhoods. U.S. 85 (Santa Fe Drive) winds north through the Overland community to combine with the freeway in 2.25 miles.
04/22/17

Exit 206 is a split diamond interchange using frontage streets (Butchtel Boulevard) between Downing and Washington Streets.
04/22/17

Interstate 25 drops below grade from Exit 206 to a viaduct over the BNSF and UP Railroads at milepost 207. The subsequent exit joins the freeway with Lincoln Street north and Broadway south via Ohio Avenue west.
04/22/17

Downing Street heads north from Exit 206 to Washington Park. Emerson and Washington parallel to the west as a one way pair of residential streets.
04/22/17

Decorative overpasses carry cross streets above Interstate 25. These were built during the T-REX project completed in 2006.
04/22/17

Decorative overpasses carry cross streets above Interstate 25. These were built during the T-REX project completed in 2006.
06/30/08

Lincoln Street north and Broadway south form a one way couplet from Exit 207 and Ohio Avenue to Capitol Hill and the Central Business District (CBD). U.S. 85 traveled along Broadway north to 8th Avenue (old U.S. 6) in 1957. U.S. 6-85 then followed Broadway north onto Brighton Boulevard before turning east onto 46th Avenue (now I-70) to their shared alignment on Vasquez Boulevard at Elyria Swansea.
04/22/17

Interstate 25 mirrors the course of the South Platte River over the ensuing 3.25 miles through industrial areas northwest to U.S. 6 (6th Avenue) and U.S. 40-287 (Colfax Avenue).
04/22/17

The entrance ramp from Washington Street merges onto I-25 north at the Logan Street overpass. The T-REX reconstructed section of Interstate 25 (Valley Highway) concludes just ahead over Broadway.
06/30/08

Continuing north, a lane drop occurs at Exit 207B for Santa Fe Drive (U.S. 85 south) and Alameda Avenue (SH 26 west). Alameda Avenue west from the bridge over I-25 to SH 95 (Sheridan Boulevard) represents the 2.97 mile extent of SH 26. SH 26 was designated around 1966 and used to extend west to Golden.
04/22/17

The Broadway Viaduct bridge lead west to Exit 207B and the Baker area south of Downtown Denver. U.S. 85 combines with I-25 north from Santa Fe Drive on a hidden concurrency to I-70 east.
Started on July 11, 2011, the I-25 and Santa Fe Drive project replaced the bridges over Santa Drive. Eliminating a left exit, work also added a flyover from U.S. 85 north to I-25 north. It also realigned I-25 from the Broadway viaduct to a point just south of Alameda Avenue and expanded the freeway to provide eight continuous lanes. This phase was completed in May 2014.¹
04/22/17

Santa Fe Drive progresses north from Exit 207B as a local street to the Lincoln Park community. Alameda Avenue joins Baker with Speer to the east and the Athmar Park and Valverde communities to the west.
04/22/17

North

A multi level interchange joins I-25/U.S. 85-87 with U.S. 6 and the Sixth Avenue Freeway at Exits 209 A/B.
04/22/17

The Sixth Avenue Freeway leads U.S. 6 west from Denver to Lakewood and Interstate 70 in the city of Golden.
04/22/17

04/22/17

The Sixth Avenue Freeway extends east to a viaduct spanning the Union Pacific Railroad yard and Kalamath Street at Lincoln Park and Baker.
04/22/17

8th Avenue is a local street linking industrial areas in Sun Valley and Lincoln Park. Forthcoming U.S. 40 and Business Loop I-70 follow Colfax Avenue across the city of Denver. U.S. 287 joins Colfax Avenue east from Federal Boulevard and the nearby Sun Valley neighborhood.
04/22/17

04/22/17

North

East

04/22/17

08/11/16

Heading east to Downtown Denver, points of interest served by Colfax Avenue include Metropolitan State University of Denver, the Colorado State Capitol, the Denver Mint, Colorado Convention Center and the 16th Street Mall.
08/11/16

Historically Colfax Avenue also carried U.S. 36 to the civic center of Denver, ending at what was then U.S. 6-85 at the intersection of Broadway and Colfax in 1957. U.S. 36 was relocated onto I-70 by 1963.
04/22/17

Beyond the Civic Center district, Business Loop I-70/U.S. 40-287 (Colfax Avenue) continues east to the City Park, Hale and East Colfax neighborhoods into the city of Aurora.
04/22/17

08/11/16

Branching northeast from Colfax Avenue through the Auraria section of Denver west of Downtown, Auraria Parkway replaced the Larimer/Lawrence Street viaduct to Lower Downtown. The parkway was part of SH 33 between 1967 and January 2002.
08/11/16

With 56 floors, Republic Plaza tops out Denver's skyline at 717 feet in height.²
08/11/16

08/11/16

Lower Downtown is a particularly popular destination for Union Station (Amtrak and light rail), the nightlife and Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies MLB team.
08/11/16

08/11/16

Empower Field at Mile High, home of the NFL Denver Broncos, rises along the west side of Interstate 25 by the South Platte River.
04/23/17

08/11/16

Elitch Gardens theme park
08/11/16

08/11/16

23rd Avenue extends west from Water Street and I-25 at Exit 211 to the Jefferson Park and Sloan Lake neighborhoods.
08/11/16

Loop ramps with I-25 southbound were removed from the cloverleaf interchange (Exits 212 A/B) with Speer Boulevard after 2004.
08/11/16

Speer Boulevard angles southeast along Cherry Creek between Downtown and Aurora by Ball Arena, home of the NHL Colorado Avalanche and NBA Denver Nuggets to the Civic Center area.
08/11/16

08/11/16

Exit 212C connects I-25 northbound with the viaduct along 20th Street spanning the South Platte River and Union Pacific Railroad line east to Coors Field at Blake Street.
08/11/16

08/11/16

20th Street northwest ties into adjacent Central Street at Osage Street in the Highland neighborhood.
08/11/16

Formerly the HOV lanes, the tolled I-25 Express Lanes follow a reversible roadway between 20th Street and U.S. 36 (Denver-Boulevard Turnpike).
08/11/16

08/11/16

Park Avenue represents the former alignment of U.S. 87 through Downtown Denver, from when the route followed Colorado Boulevard north and Colfax Avenue west to the Valley Highway (I-25).
08/11/16

08/11/16

The systems interchange with Interstate 70 was dubbed the Mousetrap by local media due to routine congestion and construction rebuilding the exchange from the 1980s to the early 2000s.
08/11/16

08/11/16

Exit 214A partitions with two lanes for I-70/U.S. 6-85 east to Elyria/Swansea and a single lane flyover for I-70 west between Chaffee Park and Sunnyside in Denver.
08/11/16

08/11/16

Regionally, Interstate 70 travels east from the Denver metropolitan area to Limon, where U.S. 40/287 separate and west across the Rocky Mountains to Grand Junction.
08/11/16

North

08/11/16

The last remaining shield for U.S. 87 on Interstate 25 in Colorado was posted north of I-70 until 2012.
08/11/16

Sources:

I-25 and Santa Fe Drive - Completed Construction Phases. ~~https://www.codot.gov/projects/ I25SantaFe/completed- construction-phases~~ Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), project web site.
The Tallest Buildings in Denver. Uncover Colorado web site.

Photo Credits:

06/29/08, 06/30/08, 08/11/16, 04/22/17, 04/23/17 by AARoads

Connect with:
Interstate 70
U.S. 6
U.S. 85
U.S. 285
State Highway 2

Page Updated 01-16-2022.