State Highway 139 is a 72.1 mi (116 km) long state highway

State highway

State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

 in far western Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

.

Route description

SH 139 begins in the south at exit 15 of Interstate 70 at Loma

Loma, Colorado

Loma is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office located northwest of Grand Junction in Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The Loma Post Office has the ZIP Code 81524.Loma is home to Loma Elementary School, whose mascot is the lion...

 roughly fifteen miles west of Grand Junction

Grand Junction, Colorado

The City of Grand Junction is the largest city in western Colorado. It is a city with a council–manager government form that is the county seat and the most populous city of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Grand Junction is situated west-southwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. As...

. From there the road proceeds northward through very remote, very sparsely populated land to its northern end at State Highway 64

Colorado State Highway 64

State Highway 64 is a 74-mile long two-lane state highway connecting the towns of Dinosaur and Meeker in the western part of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in both Moffat and Rio Blanco counties. The western end of State Highway 64 is part of the Dinosaur Diamond Scenic Byway, while the...

 at Rangely

Rangely, Colorado

Rangely is a Statutory Town in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,096 at the 2000 census. The town is home to one of two campuses of the Colorado Northwestern Community College.-Geography:...

. There are no significant settlements for the road's entire length. Near its midpoint, the road crosses Bookcliff Mountains at Douglas Pass

Douglas Pass

Douglas Pass is a mountain pass in Colorado traversed by State Highway 139. It is not an especially high summit relative to other Colorado passes, and the road, though reasonably steep on the south side , has no tight spots and only a few switchbacks...

 at an elevation of 8268 ft (2,520 m).

History

The route was established in the 1920s, when it began at U.S. Route 6

U.S. Route 6

U.S. Route 6 , also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, a name that honors an American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system, running east-northeast from Bishop, California to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Until 1964, it continued south from Bishop to...

 in Loma

Loma, Colorado

Loma is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office located northwest of Grand Junction in Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The Loma Post Office has the ZIP Code 81524.Loma is home to Loma Elementary School, whose mascot is the lion...

 and went north to SH 64

Colorado State Highway 64

State Highway 64 is a 74-mile long two-lane state highway connecting the towns of Dinosaur and Meeker in the western part of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in both Moffat and Rio Blanco counties. The western end of State Highway 64 is part of the Dinosaur Diamond Scenic Byway, while the...

. The route was completely deleted in 1954 and reestablished by 1964, where it ended at Douglas Pass. The route was paved from Loma to Douglas Pass in 1972, when the southern terminus was extended to Interstate 70

Interstate 70

Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...

. The route was extended back to SH 64 in 1975.

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Destination	Notes
Mesa Mesa County, Colorado Mesa County is the fourth most extensive and the eleventh most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado in the United States. The county was named for the many large mesas in the area, including Grand Mesa. The county population was 146,723 at the 2010 United States Census. The...	Loma Loma, Colorado Loma is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office located northwest of Grand Junction in Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The Loma Post Office has the ZIP Code 81524.Loma is home to Loma Elementary School, whose mascot is the lion...	0.000		South end of route
		1.285
Garfield Garfield County, Colorado Garfield County is the eighth most extensive and the twelfth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 43,791 at U.S. Census 2000. The county is named in honor of United States President James A. Garfield...	No major junctions in Garfield County
Rio Blanco Rio Blanco County, Colorado Rio Blanco County is the sixth most extensive of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 5,986 at U.S. Census 2000. The name of the county is the Spanish language name for the White River which runs through it...	Rangely Rangely, Colorado Rangely is a Statutory Town in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,096 at the 2000 census. The town is home to one of two campuses of the Colorado Northwestern Community College.-Geography:...	72.065		North end of route