Sometimes, avoiding the usual traffic is more art than science. That’s part of a more concerted multi-agency coordination effort, including the creation of Chavez’s job, that came in the aftermath of a February 2013 storm that stranded motorists for more than six hours on the eastbound approach to the tunnel.Īndy Cross, The Denver PostA snowboarder catches air while a buddy records him coming down the High Noon run on opening day at Arapahoe Basin ski area on Oct. 24.ĬDOT and the Colorado State Patrol have called road closures pre-emptively more often in the last five years, especially when snow has stuck to the road faster than CDOT plows can clear it. In the worst cases, local authorities and the American Red Cross have set up shelters for stranded travelers, including in Frisco and Silverthorne on Nov. Summer traffic counts are actually higher in the mountains, so it’s the weather factor that causes epic winter jams. “Realistically, through a season, it depends on snowfall … but I would say there are a good half-dozen significant storms where we expect to have major closures,” said Patrick Chavez, the I-70 corridor operations manager for the Colorado Department of Transportation. Storms the weekend after Thanksgiving brought an early dose of traffic delays lasting hours. Those traffic patterns are the norm, with a big caveat: A crash or intense snowstorm can wreak havoc and bring traffic to a standstill for hours - especially near the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels, which run beneath the Continental Divide, and other high points, including Vail Pass. When holidays fall on a Monday, the traffic-choked return is pushed back to that day. The worst eastbound backups, meanwhile, tend to happen on Sundays, building from late morning through early evening, as both day-trippers and weekend travelers crowd I-70 on their way back to Denver. Once ski and snowboarding season is in full swing - usually from mid-December through April - the patterns get pretty set: Expect some congestion heading out of Denver on Friday night, and then a round of heavier westbound traffic starting around dawn Saturday morning, with less on Sunday mornings. The first thing to know: traffic patterns ![]() “There have been weekends already in December that have had delays where there were no delays in past years,” said Margaret Bowes, who, in her work as director of the I-70 Coalition, analyzes traffic data to prepare weekend travel forecasts. Strategizing is key, a point that’s been driven home this season as heavier-than-average snowfall has drawn hordes up the hill earlier than usual. Sometimes, Interstate 70 through the Colorado mountains in the winter is just a painful, unending, unavoidable slog.īut several tricks can minimize the pain. No car-sized teleporters, either - at least not yet. Monday, September 18th 2023 Home Page Close Menu
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