CDOT Maintenance Work, Temporary Speed Limit Reduction in Place on Westbound I-70, West Vail Pass

April 8, 2011 - Northwestern Colorado/CDOT Region 3 - Travelers will encounter slowing, periodic right-lane closures; CDOT urges going Slow for the Cone Zone!

EAGLE COUNTY – Colorado Department of Transportation maintenance crews are addressing some of the impacts of winter on westbound I-70 over Vail Pass. Specifically, as weather permits, crews are patching potholes in the westbound right lane in two sections between MPs 183.5 and 185.5 on the west side of the pass.

Due to the wet weather conditions, these near-daily repairs are only temporary. Until the roadway fully dries and crews can patch these sections with hot asphalt, CDOT has temporarily lowered the westbound speed limit in this area, from 65 mph down to 45 mph, for the safety of motorists. Aside from the traffic slowing these speed reduction will cause, motorists will also be impacted briefly each day by a right lane closure.

Warning signs have been posted and double fines for speeding through this zone will be enforced. CDOT thanks all motorists for their patience and for going Slow for the Cone Zone! Crews will fully patch this section when conditions permit.

GET CDOT TRAVEL INFORMATION: To help motorists plan ahead, CDOT now offers an e-mail and text message service that is free of charge.  Motorists (and media) can receive updates on road conditions, construction projects and other CDOT news.  Signing up to receive updates is easy and free (standard text messaging rates apply) and can be completed in three simple steps.

1. Visit our Web site at www.coloradodot.info and click on the icon in upper right corner entitled "Sign up for Email and Wireless Alerts."

2. Enter your e-mail address and decide if you want your account password protected and if you want to receive e-mail, text alerts or both (not all items are available as a text alert).

3. First time subscribers are then presented with a list of all subscription items available. All you have to do is select the updates you want to receive and hit "Submit."

Motorists can also log on to CDOT’s traveler information web site at www.cotrip.org or call 511 from anywhere in the state.