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U.S. Route 6 in Colorado
Section of U.S. Highway in Colorado, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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U.S. Highway 6 (US 6) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that travels from Bishop, California, to Provincetown, Massachusetts. In the U.S. state of Colorado, US 6 is an east–west highway stretching from Utah to Nebraska. Much of the route overlaps other highways in Colorado, and, as a result, much of US 6 is unsigned.
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![[icon]](#/media/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2011) |
Western Slope
U.S. Highway 6 begins in Colorado at the Utah state line, concurrent with Interstate 70 as well as U.S. Highway 50. At Interstate 70 exit 11, U.S. Highway 6 & 50 end their concurrency with Interstate 70 and begin using the old highway alignment directly north of Interstate 70 while they travel through the communities of Mack, Loma, and Fruita. These communities were bypassed by Interstate 70. In Fruita routes 6 and 50 intersect State Highway 340, the gateway to the Colorado National Monument. The monument's sandstone canyons and rock spires are visible to the south from the highways. U.S. Highway 6 & 50 meet again with Interstate 70 at exit 26 where they begin a concurrent segment with Interstate 70 Business. The three routes travel southeast through downtown Grand Junction. U.S. Highway 6 ends its concurrency with U.S. Highway 50 and Interstate 70 Business with an interchange just west of North 1st Street. It continues east concurrent with North Avenue until rejoining Interstate 70 Business at Centennial Rd. They continue until rejoining Interstate 70 just west of the intersection of County Rd. 33 and County Rd. G. They then continue concurrently through Palisade and until just west of Rifle, where US6 continues parallel and north of the Colorado River. Eventually, it again rejoins I70 at Chacra until separating once again at Glenwood Springs, rejoining at I70 and 6th St. It separates from and runs parallel to I-70 at Dotsero, where the Eagle River joins the Colorado River. It again joins I-70 just east of Avon, the location of the Beaver Creek Resort, just a bit west of Vail. A significant departure from I-70 occurs at Silverthorne, where it veers a bit south and then north, avoiding the nearly two-mile-long (3.2 km) tunnel on I-70 as it goes under the Continental Divide. It passes Keystone Resort and Arapahoe Basin before a steep climb to the highest altitude along US 6, 11,990 feet (3,650 m), at Loveland Pass, where it crosses the Continental Divide.
Eastern Slope
Loveland Pass, where U.S. Highway 6 crosses the Continental Divide, drops down to rejoin I70 as it comes out of the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnels at the Loveland Ski Area. Slightly east of Idaho Springs, it separates to go through the scenic Clear Creek Canyon. At Golden, it combines with 6th Avenue to head south until it again crosses paths with I-70. Then, continuing east, it passes through Lakewood.
When the highway enters the western Denver suburbs, US 6 coincidentally aligns with 6th Avenue in the grid system, where it is known as 6th Avenue Freeway. Once it reaches I-25, US 6 travels north briefly, then follows I-76 for most of its length east of Denver. It is unsigned while it is overlapped.
The highest altitude along US 6 is 11,990 feet (3,650 m) at Loveland Pass, where it crosses the Continental Divide. It continues down the Clear Creek valley until it reaches I-70, where it is briefly overlapped until I-70 leaves the Clear Creek valley. US 6 continues down Clear Creek and into Denver, where it turns into a freeway with six lanes. East of Denver, it continues east while joined with I-76 until it reaches Sterling, where it diverges from the Interstate. The last town in Colorado through which it passes is Holyoke.
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| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (February 2023) |
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