U.S. Route 550
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North end | ![]() | |
Location | ||
Country | United States | |
States | New Mexico, Colorado | |
Counties | NM: Sandoval, Rio Arriba, San Juan CO: La Plata, San Juan, Ouray, Montrose | |
Highway system | ||
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U.S. Route 550 (US 550) is a spur of
Route description
New Mexico
U.S. 550 begins just north of Albuquerque at Bernalillo and passes through the towns of San Ysidro, Cuba, Bloomfield, and Aztec. Except for sections passing through the above listed towns, U.S. 550 in New Mexico has been widened to four lanes, offering a faster (70 mph) connection for Farmington, New Mexico and Durango, Colorado to Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Colorado
Most of U.S. 550 in Colorado is two-lane mountainous highway. It is one of only two north–south U.S. Highways in Colorado which runs west of the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Million_Dollar_Highway_10_2006_09_13.jpg/220px-Million_Dollar_Highway_10_2006_09_13.jpg)
The Million Dollar Highway stretches for about 25 miles (40 km) in western Colorado and follows the route of U.S. 550 between
Although the entire stretch has been called the Million Dollar Highway, it is actually just the twelve miles (19 km) south of Ouray through the Uncompahgre Gorge to the summit of Red Mountain Pass which gives the highway its name. This stretch through the gorge is challenging and potentially hazardous to drive; it is characterized by steep cliffs, narrow lanes, and a lack of guardrails; the ascent of Red Mountain Pass is marked with a number of hairpin curves used to gain elevation, narrow lanes for traffic—many cut directly into the sides of mountains. During this ascent, the remains of the Idarado Mine are visible. Travel north from Silverton to Ouray allows drivers to hug the inside of curves; travel south from Ouray to Silverton perches drivers on the vertiginous outside edge of the highway. Large RVs travel in both directions, which adds a degree of challenge to people in cars.[6][failed verification] The road is kept open year-round. Summer temperatures can range from highs between 70–90 °F (21–32 °C) at the ends of the highway to 50–70 °F (10–21 °C) in the mountain passes. The snow season starts in October, and snow will often close the road in winter. Chains may be required to drive.[7]
North of Durango, the highway passes by
The highway leaves Silverton and proceeds up Mineral Creek Valley before ascending to Red Mountain Pass. The ruins of the Longfellow Mine are visible along the way. The highway then goes through a series of steep grades and hairpin turns before reaching Lookout Point, which offers a view of the town of Ouray.[7]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Road_leading_up_to_Red_Mountain_Pass.jpg/220px-Road_leading_up_to_Red_Mountain_Pass.jpg)
This section of the route passes over three mountain passes:
- Coal Bank Pass, elevation 10,640 ft (3,240 m).
- Molas Pass, elevation 10,970 ft (3,340 m).
- Red Mountain Pass, elevation 11,018 ft (3,358 m).
The origin of the name Million Dollar Highway is disputed. There are several legends, though, including that it cost a million dollars a mile to build in the 1920s, and that its fill dirt contains a million dollars in gold ore.[3]
There are seventy named avalanche paths that intersect Highway 550 in the 23 mi (37 km) between Ouray and Silverton, Colorado.[8]
U.S. 550 ends at the corner of Townsend Avenue and San Juan Avenue in Montrose, Colorado at the junction of its parent route U.S. Highway 50.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Million_Dollar_Highway_pass.jpg/170px-Million_Dollar_Highway_pass.jpg)
The original portion of the Million Dollar Highway was a toll road built by Otto Mears in 1883 to connect Ouray and Ironton.[3] Another toll road was built over Red Mountain Pass from Ironton to Silverton. In the late 1880s Otto Mears turned to building railroads and built the Silverton Railroad north from Silverton over Red Mountain Pass to reach the lucrative mining districts around
In the early 1920s, the original toll road was rebuilt at considerable cost and became the present day US 550. The Million Dollar Highway was completed in 1924.[7] Today the entire route is part of the
US 550 was part of the original 1926
In 2009 US 50 was re-routed onto the San Juan Avenue bypass to avoid downtown Montrose. As a result, U.S. 550 was extended approximately one mile northwest to intersect with the new U.S. 50 alignment.
Major intersections
State | County | Location | mi[1][2] | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
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New Mexico | Sandoval | Bernalillo | 0.000 | 0.000 | ![]() ![]() | Continuation east beyond southern terminus | ||
![]() ![]() ![]() US 85 south (CanAm Highway) – Albuquerque | Southern terminus; I-25 exit 242 | |||||||
![]() ![]() Santa Ana Pueblo, Algodones, San Felipe Pueblo ![]() ![]() | ||||||||
2.440 | 3.927 | ![]() ![]() | Northern end of NM 528 | |||||
San Ysidro | 23.225 | 37.377 | ![]() ![]() | Southern end of NM 4 | ||||
| 63.381 | 102.002 | ![]() ![]() | Northern end of NM 197 | ||||
Cuba | 64.346 | 103.555 | ![]() ![]() | Western end of NM 126 | ||||
| 68.025 | 109.476 | ![]() ![]() | Southern end of NM 96 | ||||
| 85.485 | 137.575 | ![]() ![]() | Southern end of NM 537 | ||||
Rio Arriba |
No major junctions | |||||||
San Juan | | 123.470 | 198.706 | ![]() ![]() | Northern end of NM 57 | |||
Bloomfield | 151.746 | 244.212 | ![]() ![]() | Southern end of US 64 concurrency | ||||
152.061 | 244.718 | ![]() ![]() | Northern end of US 64 concurrency | |||||
Aztec | 159.584 | 256.826 | ![]() ![]() | Eastern end of NM 516 | ||||
161.470 | 259.861 | ![]() ![]() | Western end of NM 173 | |||||
174.885 0.000 | 281.450 0.000 | New Mexico–Colorado line | ||||||
Colorado | La Plata | | 16.561 | 26.652 | ![]() ![]() | Southern end of US 160 concurrency | ||
Durango | 18.369 | 29.562 | ![]() ![]() | Southern end of SH 3 | ||||
20.916 | 33.661 | ![]() ![]() | Northern end of US 160 concurrency | |||||
San Juan |
No major junctions | |||||||
Ouray | Ridgway | 103.702 | 166.892 | ![]() ![]() | Eastern end of SH 62 | |||
Montrose | Montrose | 129.306 | 208.098 | ![]() ![]() | Eastern end of SH 90 | |||
130.219 | 209.567 | ![]() ![]() North Grand Avenue west | Northern terminus | |||||
![]() ![]() | Continuation north beyond northern terminus | |||||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Related routes
- U.S. Route 50
- U.S. Route 150
- U.S. Route 250
- U.S. Route 350
- U.S. Route 450
- U.S. Route 650
See also
- List of United States Numbered Highways
- Cascade Lodge
References
- ^ a b Statewide Milepost/Point Map (PDF) (Map). New Mexico Department of Transportation. 2007. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
- ^ a b "Highway Data Explorer". Colorado Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
- ^ a b c Road Trip America – Million Dollar Highway by Mark Sedenquist accessed Oct 21, 2007
- ^ Trail of the Ancients. Archived August 21, 2014, at the Wayback Machine New Mexico Tourism Department. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
- ^ New Mexico Geologic Highway Map, New Mexico Geologic Society, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, 2005.
- ISSN 1538-893X. Archived from the originalon August 14, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Million Dollar Highway
- ^ Leath Tonino (February 23, 2017). "Keep Your Hands on the Wheel and Don't Look Down". Outside Magazine. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)