Milestones Icon: Diagonal Highway

It’s the road to somewhere – the Diagonal Highway between Longmont and Boulder is an economic driver for both cities.

Finished in 1960, the Diagonal Highway is officially known as Colorado Highway 119. It’s a double-divided road with numerous stoplights that parallels the tracks of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.

The 18-mile long Diagonal starts at the north end of Foothills Parkway in Boulder and ends at the west end of Ken Pratt Boulevard at Hover Street in Longmont.

In between, the Diagonal Highway generates more than just traffic. It runs by Gunbarrel business center, most commonly accessed by 63rd Street. Well-known national companies such as the tea company Celestial Seasonings and the medical device maker Covidien Inc. (at the former ValleyLab campus) are located in the park.

The Boulder Country Club is nearby.

In more recent years, national companies like ad business Crispin Porter + Bogusky have moved to the area and homegrown companies like Crocs Inc. (Nasdaq: CROX) have grown bigger, bringing more cars to the highway.

Other business and industrial parks include La Vista Business Park, Monarch Park and the Boulder Tech Center, most of which have been constructed in the last 20 years. The Diagonal also passes by Boulder County’s IBM Corp. campus on the north side of the intersection with Colorado Highway 52.

Just east of that intersection is the town of Niwot, with its historic downtown and its newer neighborhoods.w

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