Colorado State Highway 72

State Highway 72
Route information
Maintained by CDOT
Length:	51.01 mi[1] (82.09 km)
Major junctions
South end:	I-70 in Wheat Ridge
	SH 93 in rural Jefferson County SH 119 at Nederland
North end:	SH 7 east of Allenspark
Location
Counties:	Jefferson, Gilpin, Boulder
Highway system
Colorado State Highways ← SH 71 SH 74 →

State Highway 72 is a 51-mile (82 km) long state highway passing through the foothills and the eastern edge of the Front Range.

Route description

The route is a mainly rural, scenic, mountainous highway; not having many junctions. It begins at I-70 (Exit 266) in Wheat Ridge as Ward Road. It continues north through the western parts of Arvada where it becomes Coal Creek Canyon Rd. The highway continues north-north-west through Coal Creek Canyon and aptly named Wondervu, across the Union Pacific Railroad tracks at Pinecliffe, to Nederland where it meets SH 119. It goes north past Ward to its terminus with SH 7 east of Allenspark.

History

The route was established in the 1920s, when it began at 46th Avenue in Denver and headed northeast to SH 119 in Nederland. The other section of the highway northeast of Nederland was designated as SH 160. By 1936, the terminus had been moved to SH 58 (now moved). The section from SH 93 through Denver was paved by 1946, and the route was paved entirely by 1958. In 1968, SH 160 was deleted and SH 72 took the route from Nederland to Raymond.^[2]

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Destination	Notes
Jefferson	Wheat Ridge	0.00	I-70	Interchange
		10.65	SH 93 – Arvada
Boulder	Nederland	29.37	SH 119	Begin concurrency
		32.37	SH 119	End concurrency
		54.06	SH 7
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

1. ^ "Segment list for SH 71". http://www.dot.state.co.us/app_DTD_DataAccess/Highways/index.cfm?fuseaction=Description&route=072&begRefPt=0&endRefPt=500&Printable=true. Retrieved 2007-05-12. 
2. ^ Salek, Matthew E.. "Colorado Routes 60-79". http://www.mesalek.com/colo/r60-79.html#72. Retrieved 2010-05-29.