Last Blast for Summer Traffic

The Colorado Department of Transportation is reminding drivers to anticipate heavy traffic in many areas of the state due to the number of events and recreational activities taking place over the Labor Day weekend.  

All CDOT construction projects will be suspended statewide on Friday at noon to reduce potential traffic delays.  The only exception is for emergency operations.  Projects resume their regular schedule on Tuesday, Sept. 3. 

Heavier than normal traffic should be anticipated on Interstate 25 along the Front Range and on I-70 west of Denver this weekend.  I-70’s traffic tends to be heaviest from mid-morning until late afternoon on Friday, and from 7 a.m. to mid-afternoon on Saturday.  Eastbound I-70 traffic will be at its peak on Labor Day from mid-morning to late afternoon, especially from Summit County to the Denver area. 

 The 2018 Labor Day weekend traffic numbers at the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial Tunnels:

State Highway 5 – the Mount Evans Highway – closes from Summit Lake to the top on Tuesday, Sept. 3.  The remaining segment from Echo Lake to Summit Lake is scheduled to remain open until Monday, Oct. 7, 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 the cotrip.org website or by calling 511. 

Whole System - Whole Safety  

To heighten safety awareness, CDOT recently announced its Whole System. Whole Safety initiative. This project takes a systematic statewide approach to safety combining the benefits of CDOT’s programs that address driving behaviors, our built environment and the organization's operations. The goal is to improve the safety of Colorado’s transportation network by reducing the rate and severity of crashes and improving safety conditions for those traveling by all transportation modes. The program has one simple mission - to get everyone home safely.

ABOUT CDOT 
CDOT has approximately 3,000 employees located throughout Colorado, and manages more than 23,000 lane miles of highway and 3,429 bridges. CDOT also manages grant partnerships with a range of other agencies, including metropolitan planning organizations, local governments and airports. It also administers Bustang, the state-owned and operated interregional express service. Gov. Jared Polis has charged CDOT to further build on the state’s intermodal mobility options.