
U.S. 160 travels 497.22 miles across southern Colorado, from the Four Corners to the Kansas state line east of Walsh. Through the city of Alamosa, U.S. 160 partitions into a one way couplet with westbound along 0.929 miles of Main Street inventoried by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) as Route 160Z. This change took place in 2009.1
U.S. 160 enters the Centennial State northeast from New Mexico and just ahead of the San Juan River. The highway runs 18.30 miles east to U.S. 491 into the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation. U.S. 160/491 overlap 19.80 miles north to the city of Cortez in Montezuma Valley.
Heading east from Montezuma Valley, U.S. 160 continues into Mancos Valley and the town of Mancos. U.S. 160 runs across the north side of Mancos while U.S. 160 Business (Route 160D) loops to the south along Grand Avenue for 2.488 miles. Beyond Mancos, U.S. 160 rises over 500 feet in elevation between Menefee Mountain and the La Plata Mountains.
Paralleling Lightner Creek north of Smelter Mountain, U.S. 160 lowers into Durango. U.S. 550 combines with U.S. 160 south through the city from Downtown Durango for 4.363 miles. A $98.6 million project from Summer 2020 to Spring 2023 builds an interchange at the east split with U.S. 550 in south Durango. The US 550-US 160 Connection South Project constructs a new 1.1 long section of four lane highway for U.S. 550 north from La Plata County Road 220 and widens 3.3 miles of U.S. 550 south from CR 220 to CR 302.
U.S. 550 continues south to the west of Florida Mesa while U.S. 160 turns east to the north of it. U.S. 160 advances east across ranch land to the town of Bayfield and then north into San Juan National Forest. A business route for U.S. 160 was designated at Bayfield until 2011.1 Curving southeast, U.S. 160 enters Archuleta County ahead of Yellowjacket Pass. The highway meets SH 151 south of Haystack Mountain and the west end of U.S. 84 in the town of Pagosa Springs.
Traversing the San Juan Mountains, U.S. 160 travels north from Pagosa Springs to the Continental Divide at Wolf Creek Pass in Rio Grande National Forest. U.S. 160 accompanies the South Fork of the Rio Grande from northeast of Big Meadows Reservoir to the town of South Fork. U.S. 160 continues east along the Rio Grande to the town of Del Norte and with U.S. 285 from Monte Vista southeast 17.06 miles to the Alamosa County seat of Alamosa.
U.S. 160 bee lines east from Alamosa East to SH 150 at the Costilla County line. Angling southeast, U.S. 160 proceeds to the town of Blanca and then northeast into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The highway crosses North Le Veta Pass at 9,413 feet above sea level, then gradually descends over 3,000 feet in elevation to the city of Walsenburg.
Route 160A extends 305.38 miles from the New Mexico line to Business Loop I-25 (Main Street) in Downtown Walsenburg. Signs reference U.S. 160 as overlapping with the business route southeast to Interstate 25 at Exit 49. However the CDOT inventories Route 160B as following 5th Street east 0.824 miles from Main Street to the exchange joining I-25 with SH 10 at Exit 50.
Interstate 25 replaced the two lane alignment of U.S. 85/87/160 southeast from Walsenburg to Aguilar and Trinidad. U.S. 160 overlaps with I-25 for 38.22 miles to Exit 15 at Goddard Avenue in the city of Trinidad. Bypassing Downtown to the north, U.S. 160 along Route 160C crosses the Purgatoire River east to Main Street, where it rejoins its original alignment northeast to U.S. 350.
Through eastern Las Animas County, U.S. 160 traverses an arid region south of the Purgatoire River and Purgatoire River Canyon to SH 389 at Walts Corner. U.S. 160 trends northward between Chacuaco Canyon and Mesa De Maya en route to the small town of Kim. Following section lines, U.S. 160 turns four miles north to SH 109 before resuming an eastern course into Baca County.
Traveling through Comanche National Grassland, U.S. 160 heads six miles north from CR W to CR CC and 2.25 miles east to the town of Pritchett. U.S. 160 runs east again from Randolph Street and Pritchett to U.S. 287/385 south of Springfield and the small town of Vilas. Paralleling the Cimaon Valley Railroad, U.S. 160 leads northeast from the town of Walsh to the Sunflower State at Saunders.
U.S. 160 History
U.S. 160 was extended west from Johnson City, Kansas to U.S. 85 at Trinidad, Colorado by 1931. The route initially followed part of what is now SH 116 west to Buckeye Crossroads and Two Buttes, and then a stair stepped route northwest to SH 59, the eventual route of U.S. 287/385, at Verdun in southwestern Prowers County. U.S. 160 combined with SH 59 south to Springfield. U.S. 160 ran south from Walts Corner along SH 389 to Branson in southern Las Animas County, then turned northwest to Barela and U.S. 350 at Beshoar Junction.
U.S. 160 was realigned to continue west from Two Buttes along SH 116 to SH 59 in northern Baca County by 1934. U.S. 160 also replaced U.S. 450 west from Trinidad to Cortez and the Utah state line beyond Dove Creek by 1934. U.S. 160 was relocated northward from Branson between Beshoar Junction and SH 389 at Walts Corner in 1950.1 The following year U.S. 160 shifted south from SH 116 in Baca County onto SH 100 west to Bartlett, Walsh and U.S. 287 south of Springfield.
A shorter change along U.S. 160 took place in 1964 across the Sangre De Cristo Mountains.1 A new alignment of U.S. 160 was built north of La Veta Pass to North La Veta Pass. The historic route is marked as Old La Veta Pass from U.S. 160.
Southwest of Cortez, SH 40 was designated from the Four Corners east to U.S. 666/SH 789 by 1962. U.S. 164 was established along SH 40 west from U.S. 666 to northeastern Arizona by 1966. Joining Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, the Colorado State Department of Highways proposed replacing U.S. 164 along the historic Navajo Trail with an extension of U.S. 160 west to U.S. 89 near Tuba City, Arizona from an overlap with U.S. 666 south from Cortez. The application to the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) submitted on February 2, 1969 also outlined renumbering what was U.S. 160 northwest from Cortez as part of an extended U.S. 666 to U.S. 6/50 at Crescent Junction, Utah. These changes were finalized by 1971. U.S. 666 eventually was renumbered U.S. 491 with concurrence by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on May 31, 2003.


U.S. 160 spans a BNSF Railroad corridor east of the exchange with I-25/U.S. 85-87 and SH 239 (Freedom Road).
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U.S. 160 turns northeast onto Main Street, its original alignment leading south to Downtown Trinidad.
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The rural town of Kim lies 65 miles to the east of U.S. 350 along a vastly unpopulated stretch of U.S. 160.
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U.S. 160 meets U.S. 287/385 one mile south of the Springfield town line. U.S. 287/385 overlap north to U.S. 50 at Lamar and south to Boise City in the Oklahoma Panhandle.
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U.S. 160 converges with the west end of U.S. 350 at Beshoar. U.S. 350 is an intrastate route joining Trinidad with the Otero County seat of La Junta.
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No shields are posted for U.S. 350 east or the continuation of U.S. 160 westbound at the intersection between the two routes.
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U.S. 160 continues southwest to northeastern reaches of the Trinidad city limits on Main Street.
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U.S. 160 shifts west from Main Street onto the a bypass west to Interstate 5 at Goddard Avenue. Main Street extends southwest to the business district along old U.S. 160/350.
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The two lane bypass of Trinidad along U.S. 160 west across the Purgatoire River and BNSF Railroad was completed in 1992.
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- Colorado Highways: US 160 (Matt Salek).
http://mesalek.com/colo/us160.html.
Photo Credits:
04/23/17, 04/28/17 by AARoads
Connect with:
Interstate 25
Page Updated 01-28-2022.