Colorado State Highway 172 Explained

State:CO
Type:CO
Route:172
Map:Colorado State Highway 172 Map.svg
Map Notes:Map of La Plata County in southwestern Colorado with SH 172 highlighted in red
Length Mi:24.5
Length Round:1
Length Ref:[1]
Direction A:South
Terminus A: at New Mexico state line
Junction: in Ignacio
Direction B:North
Terminus B: southeast of Durango
Counties:La Plata
Previous Type:CO
Previous Route:170
Next Type:CO
Next Route:177

State Highway 172 (SH 172) is a 24.51NaN1 long state highway in southwestern Colorado. SH 172's southern terminus is at New Mexico State Road 511 (NM 511) at the New Mexico state line, and the northern terminus is at U.S. Route 160 (US 160) southeast of Durango.

Route description

SH 172 begins in the south at the New Mexico state line where the road becomes NM 511. From there, the route travels through the Southern Ute Indian Reservation northward through Ignacio where it meets the western end of SH 151. From Ignacio, the road gradually arcs to the west and passes westward through Falfa before again turning northward to meet its northern end at a junction with US 160 approximately eight miles southeast of Durango.

History

The route was established in the 1930s, when it connected US 160 to Arboles. The route was paved from US 160 to Ignacio by 1954 and to Arboles by 1960. The southern end of the road was changed to the New Mexico state line by 1972.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Segment Descriptions for Highway 172. 2008-03-27. Colorado Department of Transportation.
  2. Web site: Colorado Routes 160-179. Salek, Matthew E.. 2010-04-12.