Heavy Traffic and Increased Travel Times to Continue on Eastbound I-70
Eastbound traffic counts doubled between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and through the 11 a.m. hour over 11,500 vehicles had traveled through the Eisenhower Tunnel in the eastbound direction alone. Motorists are currently experiencing 60+ minute delays from Frisco to C-470 and that number is expected to increase throughout the afternoon and into the late evening.
During the 9 a.m. hour, 2,662 vehicles traveled through the eastbound portal at the Eisenhower Tunnel. That number increased to 2,895 for the 10 a.m. hour and remained steady at 2,780 for the 11 a.m. hour. While peak travel times generally run from 11 a.m. through 7 p.m. traffic is not expected to ease until late evening. Folks traveling back to the Denver Metro area should expect heavy delays and increased travel times throughout the remainder of the day.
Traffic counts are expected to increase throughout the day. Heavy delays are expected to continue. Just before noon, crews began safety metering prior to the Eisenhower Tunnel in order to ensure that traffic continued to move steadily through the Eisenhower Tunnel. Metering has since been suspended but with travel times increasing and traffic counts continuing to rise, metering may be implemented again.
CDOT courtesy patrol, heavy tow, increased presence of Colorado State Patrol and CDOT crews continue to monitor the corridor as they have all weekend in order to assist any motorists in need and to limit the amount of time any disabled vehicles remain in travel lanes. Motorists are encouraged to move from travel lanes if possible should their vehicle become disabled.
Are you wondering what to talk about this weekend when the I-70 traffic gets bad? Tell people that they have options. They can Change Their Peak Time by taking advantage of actual discounts after 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sunday. Check out the discounts that are currently available by visiting www.goI70.com/deals. Enjoy the mountains a little longer, take that last hike of the day, visit that restaurant you always wanted to go to, stay at the BBQ longer and enjoy the rays at the lake instead of sitting in traffic and staring out your car window. Summer travel times can be long and avoiding westbound travel between 11 and 5 on Sundays can save you time and a headache.
CDOT’s Change Your Peak Time campaign began this year and works to encourage motorists to skip the mountain return rush between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays, and choose instead to “Press Play, Avoid Delay” by spending extra time having fun in the mountains rather than spending that time in peak traffic. CDOT has partnered with the I-70 Coalition, a consortium representing the mountain communities and resorts, to give travel tips and travel forecasts, and to offer discounts, deals and incentives for travelers interested in avoiding traffic by staying in the mountains for an extra hour or two. Peak Time Deals at www.goi70.com are updated regularly, and list locations of restaurants, entertainment options and retailers along the I-70 corridor offering weekend discounts.
For information regarding CDOT projects statewide, log on to www.cotrip.org, download the CDOT Mobile app or call 511 from anywhere in the state. To receive real-time updates about road conditions in your area, visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the green cell phone icon in the upper right hand corner of the page. Information about weekly lane closures will be available at www.coloradodot.info/travel/scheduled-lane-closures.html.
