Join CDOT for fun, project updates and more this Saturday

Open Roads event gives kids and adults the chance to explore CDOT snowplows, learn about projects and win a tour of the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial Tunnels.


Want to let your kid splash some paint on one of our snowplow blades? Here's your opportunity: CDOT is hosting its Open Roads event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at various locations around the state.

Open Roads will be held at the following locations:

  • Denver area: Cabela’s, 10670 Cabela Drive, Lone Tree
  • Southeast Colorado: Safety Jam, Pueblo City Park, 800 Goodnight Avenue, Pueblo
  • Western Slope: Cabela’s, Mesa Mall, 2424 U.S. 6 & 50, Grand Junction
  • Northeast Colorado: Car Show, Old Town Fort Collins
  • Southwest Colorado: Wal-Mart, 1155 S. Camino Del Rio, Durango

At Open Roads, kids will be able to paint our blades as we retire the plows for the summer. But that's not all. Big kids—that means you—can see all the bells and whistles inside our trucks, and inside a Colorado State Patrol vehicle.  

You’ll also be able to sign up for a chance to see the control room and other areas inside the Eisenhower Tunnel at the Open Roads Event in Lone Tree. And if you want to see the inside of the Hanging Lake Tunnels in Glenwood Canyon, you can sign up for that drawing at the Grand Junction event. 

 Other things to see and do:

  •  Learn about road construction this summer.
  • Get information about traffic metering, Express Lanes, safety metering and other topics of interest to the traveling public.
  • Find out about CDOT career opportunities.
  • Take a pledge to drive distraction-free by adding your name to our Drop the Distraction billboard.
  • Get car seats checked for proper fit by a certified technician.
  • Meet traffic safety advocates from your area to ask questions about Colorado's Graduated Driver's License program and other safety issues.

CDOT also will be collecting names for the drawing on its Facebook page following the Open Roads event.  The winners and tour date will be announced in early June.   

 Why is CDOT doing Open Roads? 

"We want our citizens to have a better idea of what this agency is all about and what we do to make peoples' lives a bit easier," says CDOT Executive Director Shailen Bhatt. "Building and maintaining highways is a big part of what we do but that's not all.  We run a bus system, have bike trails, lots of safety programs. We're not just about highways' it's a long list of what we do to benefit Colorado.

"Please come out and spend some time with us on Saturday.”