Colorado State Highway 58
Golden Freeway | ||||
Map SH 58 highlighted in red | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by CDOT | ||||
Length | 5.627 mi[1] (9.056 km) | |||
Existed | 1920s–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | ||||
East end | ||||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Colorado | |||
Counties | Jefferson | |||
Highway system | ||||
| ||||
|
State Highway 58 (SH 58) is a 5.627 mi (9.056 km) state highway in Jefferson County, Colorado. It begins at an at-grade intersection with US 6 and SH 93 in Golden and ends in Wheat Ridge. It is a freeway for its entire length except for its west junction, which is a signal light.[2] The entire route is known as the Golden Freeway.
Route description
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/US_6%2C_CO-58%2C_CO-93_intersection_from_Mount_Zion.jpg/300px-US_6%2C_CO-58%2C_CO-93_intersection_from_Mount_Zion.jpg)
The freeway begins at the junction with U.S. Highway 6 and State Highway 93 in Golden with a traffic signal. It then heads eastward as a freeway and interchanges with Washington Avenue, and after about a mile, it leaves the city of Golden. After another half mile, after having a westbound exit only with Boyd Street,[3] it briefly enters and leaves the Golden city limit.[1] After crossing over the Croke Canal, it has an exit at McIntyre Street. After entering the Wheat Ridge city limit, the route ends at a three-level interchange with Interstate 70.
The Iron Horse Motel at 17115 W. 44th Ave (closed) and the Colorado Railroad Museum at 17155 W. 44th Avenue are on the old SH 58 or 44th Avenue. 44th Avenue was State Highway 58 before the highway designation was assigned to the current route south of W. 44th Ave. Most of the current road is in unincorporated Jefferson County bounded by Wheat Ridge and Golden. The Coors property runs from McIntyre St. to Ford St. in Golden on the south side of SH 58.
History
The route was established in the 1920s, with a western terminus at SH 119 north of Blackhawk and an eastern terminus at Federal Boulevard near Denver. A small business loop was added from Blackhawk to the intersection of SH 58 and SH 119.[2]
Freeway bypass
In 1955, Jefferson County announced plans for a four-lane freeway between US 6 in Golden and the Valley Highway in Denver, approximately following West 44th Avenue from Golden to Mount Olivet Cemetery and West 48th Avenue to the Valley Highway,[4] which the Golden Chamber of Commerce endorsed as beneficial to the city's economy and traffic conditions.[5] The Colorado Department of Highways (CDH) adopted the West 48th Avenue portion of the corridor for Interstate 70,[6] and, by 1958, had adopted the West 44th Avenue corridor for a realignment of SH 58, but had not allocated funding to it.[7] Over the following years, the city and county continued to request funds for the project,[8][9] and, in 1963, CDH budgeted to begin construction of the new SH 58.[10] By this year, the east end of the highway had been cut back to Sheridan Boulevard.[11]
An alignment for the freeway through Golden along Seventh Street was chosen in 1964 over a less costly routing along Tenth Street, with plans for a full diamond interchange at Washington Avenue and westbound right-in/right-out access from the Sunshine Park neighborhood.[12] In August 1964, the state began acquiring the right-of-way for the first segment of the freeway between US 6 and Ford Street,[13] including twenty-three homes[14] and the former "Governor's Mansion."[15]
By 1967, the segment of SH 58 between Wadsworth and Sheridan Boulevards had been removed from the state highway system.[16] The freeway was completed in Golden by 1968, and CDH advanced plans to extend thereto a recently completed segment of I-70 near Youngfield Street, bypassing West 44th Avenue.[17] The design called for an entrance ramp from West 44th Avenue, a full diamond interchange at McIntyre Street, and a partial interchange at I-70.[18] Although the county proposed additional ramps between SH 58 and I-70, they were rejected due to the cost of additional bridges over Clear Creek[18] and concerns over their proximity to other ramps on I-70.[19] In May 1973, the freeway between Golden and I-70 opened to traffic,[19] and the bypassed section of West 44th Avenue was removed from the state highway system.[20]
Later development
The SH 93 Golden Bypass opened in July 1991,[21] realigning SH 93 to meet US 6 and SH 58 at an at-grade intersection in west Golden.[22] This intersection replaced an interchange between US 6 and SH 58 at the same location.[23]
In 2002, in anticipation of development in the area, CDOT proposed adding ramps to the I-70/SH 58 interchange for the movements that were not included in its initial construction.[24] After Wheat Ridge annexed land southwest of the interchange for a Cabela's-anchored development in 2005, the city and CDOT studied additional transportation network changes in the area; the recommended alternative included a new interchange on SH 58 at Cabela Drive, the development's primary road, connecting Holman Street on the north to West 32nd Avenue at Zinnia Street.[25] The new ramps between I-70 and SH 58 were completed in December 2008,[26] but, following Cabela's withdrawal from the development, the Holman Street interchange was not constructed.[27]
CDOT began a project to replace the bridge over Ford Street in Golden in 2013.[28] During construction, the temporary closure of the nearby "fishhook" entrance ramp from Clearview Parkway east of Boyd Street was made permanent with support from the Golden city council. A berm was installed in the ramp's place to reduce highway noise in the adjacent Sunshine Park neighborhood.[29]
In 2016, Evergreen Devco Inc. purchased the Cabela's parcel west of I-70 to develop under the name Clear Creek Crossing.[30] Coors Brewing Company retained ownership of the northern parcels adjacent to SH 58, and, without plans to develop them, CDOT and the Federal Highway Administration determined the Holman Street interchange would not be necessary to handle the anticipated traffic levels;[31] however, the layout of Clear Creek Crossing allows for the connection to be made if the northern parcels are developed in the future.[32]
Exit list
The entire route is in Jefferson County.
Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Golden | 0.000 | 0.000 | - | Western terminus; southern terminus of SH 93; at-grade intersection | |
0.719 | 1.157 | 1A | Washington Ave | ||
2.360 | 3.798 | 1B | Boyd Street | Westbound exit only | |
| 3.817 | 6.143 | 3 | McIntyre Street | |
Wheat Ridge | 5.627 | 9.056 | 5 | Eastern terminus; Exit 5A for I-70 east (Denver) and Exit 5B for I-70 west (Grand Junction); I-70 exit 265 | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
References
- ^ a b c "Highway 058A between 0 and 5.627". Colorado Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ a b Salek, Matthew E. "Colorado Routes 40-59". Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ Salek, Matthew E. "CO 58 Exits". Retrieved 2010-04-21.
- ^ "Plans Made For Freeway Into Golden". Colorado Transcript. Colorado State Library. March 3, 1955. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
- ^ Willis, G. E. (March 17, 1955). "Golden C.C. Favors Proposed Freeway". Colorado Transcript. Colorado State Library. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
- ^ "Discussing 48th Ave. Freeway at Meeting Tonight". Westminster Journal. Colorado State Library. November 9, 1961. Retrieved August 4, 2020 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
- ^ "City Council Urges Purchase Of Land For New Highway". Colorado Transcript. Colorado State Library. May 15, 1958. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
- ^ "Highway Budget Requests Made By City, County". Colorado Transcript. Colorado State Library. November 29, 1952. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
- ^ "Officials Seek Highway Plans". Colorado Transcript. Colorado State Library. March 12, 1959. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
- ^ "State No. 58 Through City Ok'ed". Colorado Transcript. Colorado State Library. June 6, 1963. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
- ^ Travel Map of Colorado for 1963 (Map) (1963 ed.). Colorado Department of Highways. Denver inset.
- ^ "Construction On New Freeway May Begin This Fall". Colorado Transcript. Colorado State Library. March 26, 1964. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
- ^ "State Begins Buying Right-Of-Way In Golden For New Highway 58". Colorado Transcript. Colorado State Library. August 13, 1964. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
- ^ "Twenty-three Families To Be Displaced By New No. 58". Colorado Transcript. Colorado State Library. September 3, 1964. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
- ^ "Epic Events Timeline" (PDF). Golden History Museum. n.d. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ Colorado Travel Map (Map) (1967 ed.). Colorado Department of Highways. Denver inset.
- ^ "Work on Hwy. 58 Resumed". Colorado Transcript. Colorado State Library. August 20, 1968. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
- ^ a b "Plans OK'd for No Exit Off 58 Onto I-70". Colorado Transcript. Colorado State Library. August 29, 1968. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
- ^ a b "Golorado Highway 58 opened". Golden Transcript. Colorado State Library. May 22, 1973. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
- ^ "More trouble on W. 44th Avenue". Golden Transcript. Colorado State Library. March 26, 1973. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
- ^ Highland, Lynn M.; Brown, William M., III (November 1, 1993). "The Golden Bypass Landslide". Earthquakes & Volcanoes. U.S. Geological Survey. 24 (1): 4–5.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Golden Quadrangle (Map) (1994 ed.). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved August 4, 2020 – via HistoricAerials.com.
- ^ Golden Quadrangle (Map) (1985 ed.). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved August 4, 2020 – via HistoricAerials.com.
- ^ "CDOT Hosts Open House to Receive Comments on I-70/S.H. 58 Interchange Improvements" (Press release). Colorado Department of Transportation. July 22, 2002. Archived from the original on November 22, 2002. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
{{cite press release}}
:|archive-date=
/|archive-url=
timestamp mismatch; November 25, 2002 suggested (help) - ^ "Executive Summary". I-70/32nd Avenue Interchange Environmental Assessment (PDF) (Report). October 2006.
- ^ "News Releases Indexed by Area". Archived from the original on January 3, 2009.
- ^ Aguilar, John (December 11, 2014). "Wheat Ridge to take smaller bites in turnaround of abandoned Cabela's". Denver Post. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ^ "State Highway 58 over Ford Street in Golden". Colorado Department of Transportation. n.d. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ Wallace, Glenn (June 11, 2013). "Council decides to yank 'fishhook'". Golden Transcript. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ Aguilar, John (December 12, 2012). "Multi-use development plan rises at a Wheat Ridge trouble spot". Denver Post. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ^ "Neighborhood Meeting Summary" (PDF). City of Wheat Ridge Community Development. December 6, 2016.
Because the property north of Clear Creek is owned by Coors Brewing Company, who is not interested in developing that area of the site at this time, the adjacent SH 58 improvements are not currently warranted.
- ^ Evergreen Devco Inc.; Galloway & Company, Inc.; Norris Design (January 2020) [First version released in 2018]. "Clear Creek Crossing Design Pattern Book" (PDF). pp. 14, 40.
External links
Media related to Colorado State Highway 58 at Wikimedia Commons