Colorado State Highway 17

State Highway 17 (SH 17) is an 88.5 mi (142.4 km)[a] long state highway in southern Colorado. SH 17's southern terminus is a continuation as New Mexico State Road 17 (NM 17) at the New Mexico state line, and the northern terminus is at U.S. Route 285 (US 285) south of Villa Grove.

State Highway 17
Map of southern Colorado with SH 17 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by CDOT
Length88.5 mi[1][a] (142.4 km)
Major junctions
South end NM 17 at New Mexico state line
 
North end US 285 south of Villa Grove
Location
CountiesArchuleta, Conejos, Alamosa, Saguache
Highway system
Colorado State Highways
← SH 16→ SH 21

Route description

SH 17 is officially split into two parts by a stretch of concurrence with US 285. The first part of the route begins in the south at the New Mexico state line where the road becomes New Mexico State Road 17. From the state line the road proceeds in a winding, generally easterly path over the San Juan Mountains via Cumbres Pass and La Manga Pass, both over 10,000 ft (3,000 m) in elevation. Along this section, the road offers access to Rio Grande National Forest and the many recreational activities it offers. After leaving the national forest, the road continues east for approximately 13 more miles before merging with US 285 at Antonito. From Antonito, SH 17 runs northward concurrent with US 285 for just over thirty miles to the city of Alamosa. At Alamosa, the second part of SH 17 begins after the road splits from US 285. From there, the road proceeds northward up the middle of the San Luis Valley between the Sangre de Christo Mountains in the east and the San Juan Mountains to the west. The route passes through the towns of Mosca, Hooper (where the road meets the eastern end of SH 112) and Moffat before reaching its northern terminus where it again meets US 285 roughly five miles south of Villa Grove.

History

When the route was established in 1920s, the route was broken into two sections. The road began at Pagosa Springs and began southeast and disappeared as the route ended at the New Mexico state line. The route then reappeared northeast and terminated at SH 15 (now moved) near Mineral Hot Springs. Within the northeast segment, the route from Antonito to Alamosa was paved by 1936. The portion of the eastern segment from the New Mexico state line to Antonito was deleted and readded by 1938 and 1946, respectively. The rest of the route, not included the segment from New Mexico to Antonito, was paved by 1954. In 1968, the sections of the highway that were concurrent with other highways were eliminated, leaving the two segments existent now. The route was paved by 1970.[2]

Major intersections
CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
Archuleta​0.0000.000 NM 17 south – ChamaContinuation into New Mexico
ConejosAntonito39.0562.84 US 285 south – Santa Fe, Tres PiedrasSouth end of US 285 overlap
Overlap with US 285
AlamosaAlamosa69.02111.08 US 160 (Sixth Street) / US 285 north – Monte Vista6th St. is a one-way street, inbound access only; north end of US 285 overlap; south end of US 160 overlap
69.09111.19 US 160 west / US 285 north (Main Street west) – Monte VistaMain St. is a one-way street, outbound access only; no northbound access
Rio Grande70.00112.65Bridge
Alamosa East70.12112.85 US 160 east – WalsenburgNorth end of US 160 overlap
Alamosa–Saguache
county line		Hooper88.19141.93 SH 112 westEastern terminus of SH 112
Saguache​118.86191.29 US 285Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  • Highway 17 looking north toward Moffat from near Road T
  • View from Highway 17 between Moffat and Hooper

Footnotes

^ a: The section of SH 17 which runs concurrent to US 285 is maintained with federal rather than state funds and is therefore not counted by the Colorado Department of Transportation in the road's official 88.5 mile length; the total end-to-end length including this segment is 118.8 mi (191.2 km).[1]

References
  1. "Segment Descriptions for Highway 17". Colorado Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  2. Salek, Matthew E. "Colorado Routes 1-19". Retrieved 2010-05-26.
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