Last Blast for Summer Traffic

August 29, 2014 - Metro Denver Colorado/CDOT Region 1 - DENVER – The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is reminding drivers to anticipate heavy traffic in many areas of the state over the Labor Day weekend due to the number of events and activities taking place to finish up the summer travel season.

All CDOT construction projects will be suspended statewide by late Friday afternoon to reduce potential delays. The only exception is for emergency operations. Projects will resume their regular schedule on Tuesday, September 2.

Heavier than normal weekend traffic is expected on Interstate 25 along the Front Range and on I-70 west of Denver. More traffic than normal will travel westbound I-70 today and Saturday and eastbound I-70 on Labor Day,September 1, especially between Summit County and the Denver area.

Last year’s traffic numbers at the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial Tunnels (EJMT):

	Westbound	Eastbound	Total
Friday, August 30, 2013	29,614	15,525	45,139
Saturday, August 31, 2013	24,906	15,018	39,924
Sunday, September 1, 2013	16,151	21,791	37,942
Monday, September 2, 2013	13,286	27,652	40,938
Total	83,957	79,986	163,943

One seasonal road is partially closing after this weekend. The five miles of the Mount Evans Highway (Colorado 5) from Summit Lake to the top closes on Tuesday, September 2, at 8 a.m. This is done, per agreement, between CDOT and the U.S. Forest Service. The remaining 10 miles, from Echo Lake (State Highway 103) to Summit Lake, remains open until early October, weather permitting.

Other seasonal roadways – State Highway 82 over Independence Pass between Twin Lakes and Aspen and Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park – remain open through the fall until adverse weather requires a full closure for the winter.

Information regarding the opening and closing of seasonal highways in Colorado is available on thecotrip.org website or by calling 511. Updates also are offered via e-mail. Please visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the cell-phone icon in the upper right-hand corner. The link takes you to a list of items you can subscribe to, including General Travel Information – Seasonal Mountain Pass Closures/Openings.