State Highway 71
Map of eastern Colorado with SH 71 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by CDOT
Length	224.65 mi[1] (361.54 km)
Major junctions
South end	US 350 near La Junta
Major intersections	US 50 near Rocky Ford I-70 in Limon I-70 BL / US 24 / US 40 / US 287 in Limon US 36 at Last Chance I-76 near Brush
North end	N-71 south of Kimball
Location
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Counties	Otero, Crowley, Lincoln, Washington, Morgan, Weld
Highway system
Colorado State Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
← SH 69 → SH 72

State Highway 71 (CO 71 or SH 71) is a 224-mile-long (360 km) state highway passing several other highways in northern and central Colorado. SH 71's southern terminus is at U.S. Route 350 (US 350) near La Junta, and the northern terminus is a continuation as Nebraska Highway 71 (N-71) at the Nebraska border, which eventually crosses into South Dakota as South Dakota Highway 71 (SD-71), making Highway 71 a triple-state highway.

State Highway 71 is the subject of a truck freight diversion feasibility study being conducted by the Colorado Department of Transportation to explore diverting truck traffic from Interstate 25.^[2]

Route description

SH 71 begins at its southern terminus with U.S. Route 350 in La Junta, Colorado. It proceeds north into Crowley County and the city of Ordway, where it is signed as Phantom Avenue. The highway continues northward to a junction with Interstate 70 (I-70) adjacent to US 24.

In La Junta, the highway continues north for several miles to Ordway, then it takes a northeast turn to Limon. It then goes back north and skirts the town of Brush. It then heads through rural country to Nebraska.

In Stoneham, the state portion of the road overlaps County Road 142 and heads to the north. The route takes a northeast turn and continues in to Nebraska as N-71.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Otero	​	0.00	0.00	US 350 – Trinidad, La Junta, Timpas	Southern terminus
	​	9.03	14.53	SH 10 west – Walsenburg	south end of SH 10 overlap
	​	9.6	15.4	SH 10 east – La Junta	north end of SH 10 overlap
	Rocky Ford	14.54	23.40	US 50 east / SH 266 east – Cheraw, La Junta	south end of US 50 overlap; western terminus of SH 266
				SH 202 west	Eastern terminus of SH 202
	​	16.16	26.01	US 50 west – Pueblo	north end of US 50 overlap
Crowley	Ordway	26.65	42.89	SH 96 west – Pueblo	south end of SH 96 overlap
		26.88	43.26	SH 96 east – Eads, Ordway Business District	north end of SH 96 overlap
Lincoln	Punkin Center	72.6	116.8	SH 94 – Colorado Springs, Kit Carson
	Limon	101.06	162.64	US 24 west / US 40 west / US 287 north to I-70 – Denver	south end of US 24 / US 40 / US 287 overlap
		101.97	164.10	US 24 east / US 40 east / US 287 south to I-70 – Burlington	north end of US 24 / US 40 / US 287 overlap
Washington	Last Chance	138.02	222.12	US 36 – Denver, Anton
Morgan	​	174.36	280.61	US 34 east to I-76 – Sterling, Wray	south end of US 34 overlap
	Brush	175.49	282.42	US 34 west	north end of US 34 overlap
		176.45	283.97	I-76 (US 6) – Denver, Fort Morgan, Sterling	I-76 exit 90. (Denver is not explicitly signed for I-76 West at the intersection - only Fort Morgan)
Weld	​	201.64	324.51	SH 14 east – Sterling	south end of SH 14 overlap
	​	205.52	330.75	SH 14 west – Ault, Fort Collins	north end of SH 14 overlap
	​	232.9	374.8	N-71 north – Kimball	Continues north at Nebraska state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus