Colorado State Highway 90

State Highway 90
Map of Montrose County in western Colorado with SH 90 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by CDOT
Length	41.9 mi[1] (67.4 km)
Major junctions
West end	SR-46 at the Utah border
Major intersections	SH 141 at Vancorum
East end	US 550 at Montrose
Location
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Counties	Montrose
Highway system
Colorado State Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
← SH 89 → SH 91

State Highway 90 (SH 90) is a 41.9 mi (67.4 km) long state highway at the western edge of Colorado. SH 90's western terminus is a continuation as Utah State Route 46 (SR-46) at the Utah state border, and the eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 550 (US 550) in Montrose.

Route description[edit]

SH 90 begins in the west at the border with Utah where it becomes Utah State Route 46 which continues westward to meet US 191 about twenty miles (32 km) south of Moab, UT. From the Utah border the road passes eastward for about 34 miles (55 km) through a very remote area, first along a section of La Sal Creek, then over a pass and though Paradox Valley, where it crosses the Dolores River Bridge near the town of Bedrock. After leaving the valley, it joins up with SH 141 at Vancorum where this portion of the road ends. The road then reappears approximately eight miles west of Montrose and travels into downtown Montrose where its western end occurs at its intersection with US 550. The two sections of the road are joined by a 49-mile (79 km) section composed mostly of unpaved road and a brief stretch of SH 141, neither of which are officially part of SH 90. Thus the official length of the road is 41.9 miles (67.4 km), but driving from one end to the other will require traveling at least 89 miles (143 km). If only paved routes are used, that distance increases considerably.

History[edit]

The route was established in the 1920s without the current gap. In 1954, all was cut out except the current eastern section, and the current western section was added back in 1963. The route was also entirely paved by 1963.^[2]

Major intersections[edit]

The entire route is in Montrose County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
​	0.000	0.000	SR-46 – La Sal Junction	Continuation beyond Utah state line; West end of western segment
Vancorum	33.874	54.515	SH 141 – Uravan, Naturita	East end of western segment
Gap in route
​	81.533	131.215	CR 59 / CR 90	West end of eastern segment
Montrose	89.858	144.612	US 550 (Townsend Avenue) – Ouray, Gunnison, Grand Junction	East end of eastern segment
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Media related to Colorado State Highway 90 at Wikimedia Commons