looks like next I-70 mess has started

[dwoodward13]

We should note 285 also has construction in Fairplay. They are replacing the bridge just west of the CO 9 intersection and reconfiguring the whole intersection. That stoplight has become even worse than normal. I've been hearing of routine 4+mile backups on Sundays headed EB. The turn lane from EB 285 to N CO 9 can only fit about 10 vehicles before it blocks thru traffic on 285.

[montanahiker]

We should note 285 also has construction in Fairplay. They are replacing the bridge just west of the CO 9 intersection and reconfiguring the whole intersection. That stoplight has become even worse than normal. I've been hearing of routine 4+mile backups on Sundays headed EB. The turn lane from EB 285 to N CO 9 can only fit about 10 vehicles before it blocks thru traffic on 285.

Yes, it's been bad on the weekend afternoons. I got stuck in it one weekend and then the next decided to go back via Co Springs and probably got home faster.

[XterraRob]

We should note 285 also has construction in Fairplay. They are replacing the bridge just west of the CO 9 intersection and reconfiguring the whole intersection. That stoplight has become even worse than normal. I've been hearing of routine 4+mile backups on Sundays headed EB. The turn lane from EB 285 to N CO 9 can only fit about 10 vehicles before it blocks thru traffic on 285.

Can confirm, it was about a 45min to hour delay on Sunday around 2-3pm.

The red dot below represents where the stand-still began.

[Scott P]

I hate driving in Colorado so much. So much traffic everywhere!

It's not everywhere in Coloardo. I did traffic counts and projections (for work) on some of the highways. Some of them get less than 30 cars a day, at least most of the year.

Traffic is only a problem in a few (most of them lame) parts of the state. For the majority of the highways and roads in Colorado, there isn't much traffic.

Even I-70 seldom has that many traffic problems except when it's flooding in Glenwood Canyon or the section of the road between Frisco and Denver metro. The rest of I-70 is usually fast driving unless there's a big snowstorm.

The only times I have seen really bad traffic in Colorado is when I have to go to the Denver metro or on SH 82 between Glenwood and Aspen. It can be annoying in Grand Junction as well and might get bad in a few decades. As of right now it's not horrible-yet.

[the_hare]

As far as traffic goes we all know some buses from Denver Union Station to the Bierstadt & Quandary trailheads would curtail nearly all I-70 traffic

I wonder if Bustang would get more ridership if they left from the Dino lots instead of Union Station. Downtown Denver is not exactly convenient for most people.

Unironically yeah I do think this would be a great solution to reduce traffic in the winter since for skiing a ton of ppl are going to and from a specific handful of places at specific times. Looked it up and apparently Bustang does stop in the Dino lots on the way from Union all for a pretty enticing $25 round-trip in the express lane, at least for A Basin, Copper, Breck & Loveland

[Chicago Transplant]

Any road can feel like heavy traffic when a semi or RV is trying to go over a pass or through curves. I once had to follow 3 semis from Ouray to Durango (among several other cars in this traveling group as well that had caught up to them). It took me until Purgatory to finally pass the 3rd one and there was quite a parade going on by then.

The cynic in me says the extra lanes just end up moving the bottleneck to the new merger point, but at least they do help normal traffic get past the semis and RVs a lot more efficiently while they exist. Hopefully the Floyd Hill expansion helps with that in the long run! Two lane sections on 70 that go over passes inevitably have the 50 MPH RV trying to pass the 40 MPH semi while all the 65+ crowd files in behind them. A third lane would at least let the 65+ crowd get around slow vehicles that are passing the even slower ones. At least in theory!

[Ed_Groves]

@Ed The construction being discussed here is quite a ways from Dillion. It will primarily effect travelers who are going between Denver and Idaho Springs. That's not to say you won't run into traffic but, of you do, it's unlikely to be traffic related to this construction project.

Thanks for the reply. I must be missing something here. The link to 9 News in one of the earlier posts mentioned that this is between Hyland Drive and the Hwy 6 interchange. Isn't the highway 6 interchange the road to Loveland Pass? Or is it highway 6 near the Two Bears Tap and Grill?

[SkaredShtles]

@Ed The construction being discussed here is quite a ways from Dillion. It will primarily effect travelers who are going between Denver and Idaho Springs. That's not to say you won't run into traffic but, of you do, it's unlikely to be traffic related to this construction project.

Thanks for the reply. I must be missing something here. The link to 9 News in one of the earlier posts mentioned that this is between Hyland Drive and the Hwy 6 interchange. Isn't the highway 6 interchange the road to Loveland Pass? It lies between Dillon and the first two 14er hikes I mentioned - Kelso Ridge and the Sawtooth.

There is a different construction project... and that may impact you - I-70 between Frisco and Dillon, eastbound. The Floyd Hill stuff is *far* away from Summit County...

[dwoodward13]

As far as traffic goes we all know some buses from Denver Union Station to the Bierstadt & Quandary trailheads would curtail nearly all I-70 traffic

I wonder if Bustang would get more ridership if they left from the Dino lots instead of Union Station. Downtown Denver is not exactly convenient for most people.

Unironically yeah I do think this would be a great solution to reduce traffic in the winter since for skiing a ton of ppl are going to and from a specific handful of places at specific times. Looked it up and apparently Bustang does stop in the Dino lots on the way from Union all for a pretty enticing $25 round-trip in the express lane, at least for A Basin, Copper, Breck & Loveland

In years past the Bustangs (you are actually talking about the Snowstangs if its direct to the ski resorts, but same idea) were not allowed to travel in the express lane. The lane is too narrow since its not a "real" lane for a full sized coach bus. That was one of the big benefits of the Pegasus (Ford Transit style van) in that they were approved for the express lane. They also have a pretty minimal fee but do stop at more destinations than the Snowstangs, which could be a pro or con. They also have bike/ski racks depending on the season.

[Ed_Groves]

@Ed The construction being discussed here is quite a ways from Dillion. It will primarily effect travelers who are going between Denver and Idaho Springs. That's not to say you won't run into traffic but, of you do, it's unlikely to be traffic related to this construction project.

Thanks for the reply. I must be missing something here. The link to 9 News in one of the earlier posts mentioned that this is between Hyland Drive and the Hwy 6 interchange. Isn't the highway 6 interchange the road to Loveland Pass? It lies between Dillon and the first two 14er hikes I mentioned - Kelso Ridge and the Sawtooth.

That's a different construction project... and that may impact you. The Floyd Hill stuff is *far* away from Summit County...

Thanks! I checked the map closer to Denver and I see the highway 6 they are talking about near Floyd Hill. I appreciate the help.

[thurs]

One of the goals of the new infrastructure at Floyd Hill is not to just remove the 3 lane -> 2 lane bottleneck, it's to reduce the grade and angle of the corner at the bottom of the hill which is also responsible for snarling traffic. Even moderate traffic + light braking can create a cascading effect that eventually leads to stop-and-go traffic. Even if they didn't increase the amount of lanes it would likely be beneficial to traffic flow through that entire area.

[peter303]

If I'm reading the project description correctly, then it seems like taking US 6 thru Clear Creek canyon won't help. Is this correct?

It might help with west bound. I was considering that.

However, east bound 7/31/23 was backed up ten miles to the Hwy 40 merge. It looked like a bad ski weekend traffic jam. Hwy 6 would help there.