Heavy Traffic Week Ahead

“This is traditionally the beginning of the busy summer traffic season.  The snow is all gone, the children are out of school and vacation travel is building,” says CDOT Executive Director Don Hunt.  “With the July 4^th holiday falling in the middle of the week, we’re expecting to see a significant jump in traffic before and after the actual holiday so people should make their travel plans accordingly.”

To reduce potential delays, all CDOT construction projects will be suspended statewide on Wednesday.  Most projects will continue operating Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; others will be suspended all week.  The only exception is for emergency operations.

Heavier than normal traffic should be anticipated on the state’s main thoroughfares, including Interstate 25 and Interstate 70, especially between Vail and the Denver area.

The 2011 Fourth of July weekend traffic count at the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial Tunnels was:

However, since Independence Day is Wednesday, traffic counts traditionally are higher than normal but lower than when the 4^th includes a weekend.

Please be aware that due to this year’s wildfires, a highway can be closed at any time to facilitate firefighting activities, evacuations or for other public safety functions.  Additional information regarding fire bans and fireworks restrictions is available at www.colorado.gov

Information regarding the opening and closing of the state’s highways is available at all times on the cotrip.org website or by calling 511.  Free updates also are offered via text and e-mail.  Please visit and click on the cell-phone icon in the upper right-hand corner.  The link takes you to a list of highways, corridors and projects available for subscription.  Updates are also available via Twitter @coloradodot and be sure to “Like” our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/coloradodot.