Colorado State Highway 45

State Highway 45
Pueblo Boulevard
Route information
Maintained by CDOT
Length:	9.126 mi[2] (15 km)
Existed:	1964[1] – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-25 in Pueblo
	SH 78 SH 96
North end:	US 50 in Pueblo West
Location
Counties:	Pueblo
Highway system
Colorado State Highways ← SH 44 SH 46 →

Colorado State Highway 45, also known as Pueblo Boulevard, is an expressway in the city of Pueblo. It is 9.126 miles (14.687 km) long. Its southern terminus is at I-25 and its northern terminus is US 50. Plans are waiting to be approved to expand the expressway to six lanes, build a new interchange with US 50, and fix lane narrowing.

Route description

The route begins at I-25. It traverses just south of Lake Minnequa and the Minnequa Business District in southern Pueblo. It intersects SH 78 and SH 96.^[1] The route then continues, intersecting several other city streets. The road comes to an end at US 50. The street continues northwest as Wildhorse Road in Pueblo West.

History

The route started as a rural highway in the 1960s, with the first section from I-25 northwest to SH 96 opening by 1966. By 1973, it was extended north to 11th Street, and was completed north to US 50 by 1975.

Future

Because of growing population in Pueblo, especially in the western side around SH 96, an extension of Highway 45 into a major highway in the area area has been proposed. In theory, it would be useful to alleviate traffic jams in the area. SH 45 is planned to eventually continue northeast from US 50 to I-25 around Milepost 103.^[1]

Exit list

The entire route is located in Pueblo county.

Location	Mile	Destination	Notes
Pueblo	0.000	I-25 north – Colorado Springs	South end of route
	0.218	I-25 south – Walsenburg
	0.437	Lake Avenue
	1.598	S Prairie Avenue
	3.306	SH 78 south (Northern Avenue) – Beulah
	4.918	SH 96 east (Thatcher Avenue)
	4.920	SH 96 west (W Thatcher Avenue) – Westcliffe
	7.223	24th Street
	7.729	Spalding Avenue
Pueblo West	9.038	US 50 east – Pueblo
	9.126	US 50 west – Cañon City	Northern terminus
	9.126	Wildhorse Road
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Salek, Matthew E. (January 30, 2010). "Colorado Routes 40–59". http://www.mesalek.com/colo/r20-39.html. Retrieved August 28, 2010. 
2. ^ "Segment Descriptions for Highway 45". Colorado Department of Transportation. http://www.dot.state.co.us/app_DTD_DataAccess/Highways/index.cfm?fuseaction=Description&route=045&begRefPt=0&endRefPt=500&Printable=true. Retrieved 2010-03-13.