Colorado State Highway 21

State Highway 21
Powers Boulevard
Map of El Paso County in central Colorado with SH 16 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by CDOT
Length:	20.56 mi[1] (33.09 km)
Major junctions
North end:	SH 83 near Black Forest
	US 24 in Colorado Springs
South end:	SH 16 in Fountain
Location
Counties:	El Paso
Highway system
Colorado State Highways Interstate U.S. State Scenic ← SH 17 SH 22 →

State Highway 21 is an expressway in El Paso County, in eastern Colorado Springs. The highway serves as an eastern bypass for the city of Colorado Springs. Officially, the routing is from SH-16(Mesa Ridge Parkway) in the south to Interquest Parkway/SH 83 in the north.

Route description

For most of its routing the highway is a four to six-lane, limited access highway. In the north, it begins as a semi-freeway with a 60 mph speed limit, and becomes a six lane expressway with a 55 mph speed limit in the city of Colorado Springs after Union Boulevard and remains so throughout the entire route. The northern section, from Research Parkway to Interquest Parkway/SH 83 is constructed to interstate highway standards with sufficient right-of-way to construct planned overpasses and on/off-ramps. CDOT completed interchanges and bridges at Union Boulevard and Briargate Parkway in 2013 and an interchange at Old Ranch Road in 2015. Future interchanges at Research Parkway, SH 83 and a future freeway to freeway interchange planned for the SH 21/I-25/Northgate Blvd interchange will be constructed based on the availability of funding and need. The whole routing from I-25 to Proby Parkway is planned as a controlled-access freeway. The southern portion (from Research Parkway) is a limited-access highway with interchanges constructed at Woodmen Road and Platte Ave/US 24. It ends at Mesa Ridge Parkway in Security-Widefield.

History

The route was established on October 1, 2007.^[2] When defined, its routing included the entire length of Powers Boulevard.

Junction list

The entire route is in El Paso County.

Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Fountain	131	211		SH 16 west (Mesa Ridge Parkway) – Fountain	Southern terminus; road continues west as SH 16
Colorado Springs	139	224		US 24 west (Fountain Boulevard) – Manitou Springs	South end of US 24 overlap
	140	230		Stewart Avenue	Interchange; northbound entrance only
	141	227	141	US 24 east (Platte Avenue) – Limon	Interchange; north end of US 24 overlap
	149	240	149	Woodmen Road	Interchange; signed as exits 149A (east) and 149B (west) northbound
	152	245	151	Union Boulevard, Briargate Parkway	Interchange
	153	246	—	Old Ranch Road	Interchange
Black Forest	154	248		SH 83 north (Interquest Parkway) – Colorado Springs, Denver	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Route transition

References

1. "Segment list for SH 21". Retrieved 2007-05-12.
2. Salek, Matthew E. (January 30, 2010). "Colorado Routes 20–39". Retrieved March 3, 2010.

External links