U.S. Route 138

U.S. Route 138
Route information
	Auxiliary route of US 38
Length:	71.29 mi (114.73 km)
Existed:	1926 – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 6 in Sterling, Colo.
	I-80 near Big Springs, Neb.
East end:	US 30 near Big Springs, Neb.
Highway system
	United States Numbered Highways; List; Bannered; Divided; Replaced;

U.S. Route 138, commissioned in 1926, is an east–west U.S. Highway in Colorado and Nebraska that runs predominantly northeast to southwest paralleling the South Platte River and Interstate 76. Like all spurs of the former U.S. Route 66 and U.S. Route 99, U.S. Route 138 is an orphan route. U.S. Route 38 was commissioned in 1926, but U.S. Route 6 was extended over it to Long Beach, California (but was truncated to Bishop in 1964). Therefore, U.S. 138 still meets its former parent route.

Route description

Colorado

U.S. 138 begins in Sterling at U.S. 6 and Business Loop 76. It goes northeast and intersects Colorado State Highway 113 southwest of Iliff. It becomes more easterly as it goes through Iliff, Proctor and Crook, where it intersects Colorado State Highway 55. It continues on to Sedgwick, where it meets Colorado State Highway 59. After passing through Ovid, it then meets U.S. Highway 385 west of Julesburg, and they overlap into Julesburg. Also in Julesburg, U.S. 138 intersects Colorado State Highway 11. U.S. 138 then leaves Julesburg going northeast and enters Nebraska.

Nebraska

Shortly after entering Nebraska, U.S. 138 intersects Interstate 80. It continues east from I-80 and enters Big Springs. At Big Springs, U.S. 138 turns north and ends at U.S. Highway 30.

History

The western terminus is in Sterling, Colorado, where it met U.S. Route 38 from 1926 to 1931 (US 38 became U.S. Route 6); the eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 30 north of Big Springs, Nebraska. US 138 is an example of a "child" route that has long outlived its "parent"; before U.S. Route 99 was decommissioned in 1964, US 138 was the only US route to not have a "parent" route.

Major intersections

State	County	Location	mi^[1]^[2]	km	Destinations	Notes
Colorado	Logan	Sterling	0.000	0.000	US 6 to I-76 / SH 14 – Holyoke, Atwood, Brush, Fort Collins	Western terminus
			8.970	14.436	SH 113 north – Peetz, Sidney
		Crook	27.503	44.262	SH 55 south – Fleming
	Sedgwick	Sedgwick	43.413	69.866	SH 59 south – Haxtun, Yuma
			54.810	88.208	US 385 north – Chappell, Sidney	West end of US 385 overlap
		Julesburg	56.956	91.662	SH 11 north to I-80
		Julesburg	58.534	94.201	US 385 south to I-76 – Holyoke	Interchange; east end of US 385 overlap
			59.823 0.00	96.276 0.00	Colorado–Nebraska state line
Nebraska	Deuel		3.06– 3.51	4.92– 5.65	I-80 – Sidney, North Platte	Interchange; exit 101 on I-80
		Big Springs	9.44	15.19	L-25B to I-80
			11.47	18.46	US 30 – Ogallala, Chappell	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus