Cobweb Express

Fighting Traffic?
by Mel McFarland

I 25 has been the main traveled route through here for almost fifty years! Before that US 85 &87 were the main route back into the 1930’s. Incidentally, US 85 and 87 come up from Texas and New Mexico as two roads, join in Colorado, separated at Castle Rock, met again at Denver and again in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

US 85 goes to the Black Hills and up to North Dakota, while 87 goes to Montana. I 25 generally follows the old route of 87 north of Colorado Springs. Anyway, as I was saying, before the highways of the 1950’s, the main road through here was on Santa Fe. The first paved highway was built in the late 1920’s and early thirties. It was a triumph for the automobile and truck driver. Prior to the modern strip of concrete between Denver and Pueblo a driver had to deal with many problems.

To drive from Denver to Fountain the road was mainly a dirt road, in many spots not regularly graded. As it went through every little town the road might even be oiled, but you went through a town about every five miles. Many of these towns vanished in the 1940’s, after the new road was built. Not only that, you had to deal with crossing the two railroad tracks that run between Denver and Pueblo. The road crossed the tracks about 20 times before it got to Fountain. The new road was planned to eliminate most of these dangerous crossings. In most places where it could not be avoided the road went under the tracks. The new road traveled through Castle Rock, Larkspur, Palmer Lake, Monument, Kelker, Fountain, Midway, and Pinon, as well as others you may have never heard of. When I 25 was built some of those died.

Before the paved road was built there was a Santa Fe in Fountain, but it was a residential street, on the “other side of the tracks”. Main street was the route all the traffic used, going south on Old Pueblo road, only it was not “Old” then. Interestingly it was generally not paved until after the 1965 flood. The crossing of the railroad down near Buttes was typical of that found along the road between Denver and Pueblo. That route goes back to the Indians. Even in 1806 when Pike came up Fountain Creek he came that way.

Today people complam about how long it takes to get to Denver. If you made the trip in 1940 it was more like twice as long, in 1920, it was an all day drive. The reason trains were popular was they took half the time a car did!

CONTACT THE WRITER • MCMIDLAND@YAHOO.COM

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