CDOT Installing Weather Sensors on I-25 Near Wyoming State Line Tuesday and Wednesday

July 16, 2012 - TRAFFIC ADVISORY - Sensors will help motorists plan for driving conditions in the area.

LARIMER/WELD COUNTIES — Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 17 and Wednesday, July 18, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) maintenance crews will install Road Weather Information System (RWIS) sensors on I-25 near the Wyoming border at mile marker (MM) 298 and MM 276 south of Wellington.

To complete the work, lane closures on I-25 will be in place at the following locations and times:

  • Tuesday, July 17: Left lane of southbound I-25 will be closed at MM 298 from 8 a.m. to noon. Right lane of southbound I-25 will be closed at MM 298 from noon until 4 p.m.
  • Wednesday, July 18: Left lane of northbound I-25 will be closed at MM 276, two miles south of Wellington from 8 a.m. to noon. Right lane of northbound I-25 will be closed at MM 276 from noon until 4 p.m.

Motorists should plan for minor delays on both directions of the highway during work hours. The speed limit will be reduced from 75 MPH to 55 MPH and motorists are urged to drive Slow for the Cone Zone.

RWIS sensors are an important technology for CDOT as well as motorists as they provide real-time weather and driving conditions. This information is then provided to our road and weather condition hotline and website to help motorists plan ahead and help CDOT maintenance crews battle snow storms. The sensors are configured to measure air temperature, barometric pressure, wind speed, wind direction, visibility, and relative humidity. They can also report road surface information such as precipitation, and can detail the thickness of layers of ice, sleet, or snow.

Using the information provided by the sensors, CDOT crews can better forecast predictions for road conditions as well as inform the public about current conditions. The information can then be used to determine when and where snow plows need to be deployed during a snow storm. Altogether, there are nearly 20 sensors in northern Colorado and more than 100 around the state.

To review the data received from the RWIS sensors, visit www.cotrip.org and click on “Devices” and then “Weather Stations.” You can also obtain current road and weather conditions by visiting www.cotrip.org or calling 511. To receive updates about road conditions in the area, visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the green cell phone icon in the upper right hand corner of the page.