The last remaining US 87 marker in Colorado

The Colorado Department of Transportation has an unfortunate policy of not recognizing US routes in stretches where they are joined with interstates. For example, according to CDoT, US 40 officially doesn't cross the entire state. Instead, there are four discontinuous segments: 1.) from the Kansas line near Arapahoe to Limon; 2.) from I-70 in Aurora (exit 288) to I-70 at Genesee (exit 254); 3.) from CO hwy. 74 south of exit 252 (at El Rancho) to US 6 east of exit 244 (near Idaho Springs); and 4.) from I-70 near Empire (exit 232) to the Utah state line near Dinosaur. In other words, CDoT considers US 40 to be non-existent between Limon and Aurora... and it may as well be non-existent between Genesee and Empire because it's not signed from I-70. Other US routes get similar treatment in various places: signage from the interstates is often poor or non-existent. This can be irksome for those who want to follow a specific US route across the state: good luck if you want to use US 6 through Denver or through the mountains... Don't expect the signs to guide you on US 24 through Kit Carson County... Better have a good map if you want to follow US 85 between Colorado Springs and Fountain...

Since US 87 follows I-25 through the entire state from Wyoming to New Mexico, it doesn't officially exist in Colorado. Yes, I know many maps show it co-signed with I-25, and some even show Nevada Avenue in the Springs as US 87. That was true in the past, but according to CDoT now, there is no such thing as US 87 in Colorado. You won't see a US 87 marker anywhere... with the exception of one still remaining in Denver:

That was on northbound I-25 between I-70 and the 58th Avenue interchange, in 2001 as I recall. It kinda sticks out like a sore thumb; you'd think somebody with CDoT would eventually see that and remove it. Well, as it turns out, CDoT apparently did notice the sign. But what they noticed is that it was a 2-digit highway on a 3-digit blank. So they replaced it. Replaced it!

I noticed that in late 2001; photographed it in January 2002. Makes me laugh... guess somebody didn't get the memo that there is no such thing as US 87 in Colorado.

Having said all this, there are a few places where posted signage belies these non-existent US routes. For example, US 160 is well-signed along I-25 between Trinidad and Walsenburg. As of spring 2003 there were different assemblies both directions on I-70 between I-25 and Vasquez Boulevard which indicated the freeway also serves as US 6 and US 85. Here's one of them:

The angle is kind of unusual there: I was standing on 46th Avenue at about Elizabeth Street, as I recall (at any rate, a surface road just west of where southwestbound Vasquez traffic enters westbound I-70). The freeway is elevated above 46th in this part of town, so this photo is looking up at a trailblazer for westbound I-70. The US 6 and US 85 markers probably date back to a time when US highways had "official" routes through the city via its various freeways. But today most signs have been changed to eliminate references to US routes, reflecting CDoT's view that US routes in Colorado effectively "end" wherever they join an interstate. For example, here's the approach signage on southbound Vasquez (US 6/85) at its junction with I-70:

No help whatsoever if you're trying to follow US 6 or US 85 through town. (What you'd do, incidentally, is fork left towards I-70, then right at the westbound on-ramp.) In other words, the 6 and 85 reassurance markers shown above are pretty much irrelevant, because there were no directions to get 6/85 traffic there in the first place! But check this out:

This is looking north on Steele at the I-70 underpass; the car in the distance is about to veer slightly to the right, where the road becomes Vasquez. He's on eastbound US 6/northbound US 85, but note the sign: here we're informed that the opposite direction on those routes is to the left via westbound I-70. So let me get this straight: we're providing this information for northbound Steele traffic (which is not even a signed highway route), but not for southbound Vasquez (which is US 6/85)?

Here's another example: when you're travelling east on the 6th Avenue Freeway (US 6) approaching I-25, this was the sign just past Knox Court:

2002

"Hmm, so I need to exit to I-25 in order to continue east on US 6... OK, do I go north or south?" Sorry, no answer - that was the last mention you'd see of US 6. And as unhelpful as that sign was, even that lone clue has been removed now:

2004

Now it's even more futile to try and follow US 6 through the city. You can see the series of big green signs ahead - none of them provide directions for US 6 traffic. Now you're just as likely to continue east of I-25 on 6th Avenue, which is an unsigned city arterial that quickly becomes one-way westbound! For the record, US 6 traffic should go north on I-25. Then, when you get to I-70, you need to head east. But don't expect to follow any signs there, either.