GoI70

Photo courtesy of Colorado Department of Transportation

Thursday Morning Update: CDOT reports that they are preparing the road for opening, clearing snow and new debris from Wednesday’s blasting.  “Crews have already set up traffic control cones/barrels and signage on the Interstate so that when repairs are complete, the highway can open quickly. We will send notice as soon as a re-open time is set today.”

Late Evening Update: Just in time for the 9 o’clock news, the Colorado Department of Transportation declares, “The good news is that one lane of eastbound and westbound I-70 will reopen by the end of the day tomorrow.” Apparently, their geologists did have time to inspect the rock mitigation work done late in the day and they are “very satisfied with the work.” CDOT now believes that no further mitigation work will be required Thursday. In the morning crews will finish cleanup, drainage work and final pavement repair.

Be patient people, that’s one lane in each direction and three days of delayed travel along a busy section of highway. Travelers will be able to get through but it isn’t going to be full speed ahead. Plan for the potential of long queues and slow travel for the two lane detour.

Original Post: I 70 remains closed to traffic Wednesday night. The Colorado Department of Transportation says that two lanes of the highway are almost ready to carry traffic but they can’t vouch for the slope above. Work continues in the morning. The department assures the public, “CDOT will make every effort to reopen tomorrow.”

CDOT crews worked throughout the day to prepare a large area of loose rock for blasting and scaling. Apparently, the blast went off according to plan around 6 pm, but night came in before crews could climb back into the area and inspect the evening’s work. In the morning the scaling crew will climb back up the 900 foot slope to verify whether the slope is stable or, in the alternative, to begin work again. The highway will remain closed until the slope inspection is positive.

When the road is opened, the lanes farthest from the mountain which suffered the least damage will carry one lane of traffic in each direction. CDOT’s text messages and press communications have a slightly harried sound to them late this afternoon. The agency is acutely aware that the road usually carries 20,000 vehicles a day and that vacationers, truckers and commuters have only round-about & mountainous alternatives to the direct and convenient interstate arrow through the heart of the Colorado Rockies. They promise, “Be assured we will send an update as soon as we begin any procedures to open a lane.”

Stay tuned, folks.

Photo courtesy of Colorado Department of Transportation

Update at 4:10 pm: CDOT worked through the morning and most of the afternoon preparing a large area of loose rock for blasting and scaling. The agency says that the blasting is scheduled to be done by 5 pm. After the rock is cleared, they will assess any further damage to the road and then announce a timeline for opening the eastbound lanes of the highway to two way traffic. Stay tuned.

Original Post: I-70 remained closed Tuesday between Glenwood Springs and Dotsero while CDOT crews cleaned debris from the roadway and another group worked to dislodge loose rock on a steep slope almost 1000 feet above the highway. Around 8 pm Tuesday, CDOT sent out word that they have suspended the rockfall mitigation for the night. And, to the disappointment of many, there is “still no ETA for I-70 (to) reopen.” We’ll take the liberty of restating this rather terse statement as follows, “We don’t know when we can open the road; this is a real mess.”

According to CDOT late Tuesday night, the plan is to complete the rock mitigation and then repair the eastbound lanes so that traffic can be routed one lane in each direction along the less damaged part of the highway. CDOT isn’t saying yet, but based on past experience and the extent of the damage to the westbound lanes, it could be a matter of months before the highway is returned to full 4 lane travel.

How do You Get from A to B?

Meanwhile, the search for the best alternative route goes on for the 20,000 travelers who cross this section of highway every day. We want to say a word of caution to those of you who are considering taking an alternate route from the Front Range to Grand Junction or vice versa. A careful look at the National Weather Service forecasts and the current weather radar are just as essential to picking the right route as is a good map.

All the alternative roads are primarily two lane mountain highways. They go over very steep terrain and can be challenging driving for even the most experienced motorists. There will be heavy traffic from the many motorists and truckers who are inconvenienced by the Glenwood Canyon closure.

Finally, it is winter! A sunny afternoon can turn into a vicious evening squall in a matter of minutes. Check your tires; take some blankets and food; know where you are going.

The Northern Alternatives

For those who are making the trip from the Front Range to Grand Junction there are two possible northern routes which add around 3 hours – plus or minus – to the trip.  The two alternative routes combine CO13 from Rifle to Craig on the west junction with I-70, US40 from Craig to Kremmling and, either, CO9 to Silverthorne or US40 to Empire Junction at the east end of the detour.

Locals and other experts will debate which of the two routes is best, but there is no clear cut answer. Weather and the time and day of the trip will play a huge role in determining how long it takes along the two alternate routes. If it is snowing on the Continental Divide or travelers are on the highway during the weekend peak ski traffic, then taking US40 to or from Empire Junction will avoid the sometimes long delays up to and down from the Eisenhower Tunnel. If the roads are clear and I-70 is not at capacity, then the route through Silverthorne avoids Berthoud Pass and puts more miles on the Interstate at cruising speed.

The Southern Alternatives

The southern detour offers even more possibilities depending on where the traveler is headed. Once again there is a single end point at western end of the trip – whether that is the beginning or end of the trip. US50 runs from Grand Junction over Monarch Pass to Poncha Springs (near Salida) where the traveler has a variety of choices to make. From Poncha Springs, travelers can rejoin I-70 at Vail by following US285 north to US24  through Leadville, or at Frisco by following US285 to CO9. Or, they can go directly into Denver on US285 through South Park, to Colorado Springs by linking US285 to US24 east or Pueblo by continuing on US50.

The southern route from Denver to Grand Junction is a bit shorter than the the northern route, but that only tells a part of the story. In the past month, these roads have seen heavy snows and frequent road closures. Monarch Pass has been closed off and on because of weather, avalanche danger and multiple car accidents during the past two days following the rock fall in Glenwood Canyon. If it is snowing on the southern routes, the distance of the trip is the least important factor in choosing your way.

I-70 is a Local Road

Finally, I-70 serves as Main Street for the the scores of mountain communities along its way. For the many people who use the highway to commute from points west of Glenwood Springs to work in the businesses around Beaver Creek, Vail and Copper Mountain or who travel from points east to work in the Roaring Fork Valley, their regular hour long commutes have suddenly become epic journeys. There just aren’t any easy back road workarounds. Our sympathies go out to the working stiffs, as well as to the cross country voyagers.

Guess the Mess returns this Sunday! Test your knowledge of the driving conditions on I-70 and calculate the effects of weather on the trip home to Denver from a day in the mountains. Guess the time and extent of the greatest delay during eastbound rush hour on Sunday, March 14th.

The guess closest to the time of peak delay will win a pair of lift tickets to Copper Mountain. Four runner up prizes include 2 passes to the Vail Parking Garage, and 2 pair of Teko ski socks.

It is as easy as making a guess and sending a text message or an email. You can enter from your phone or your computer. Here is the short version of how to play Guess the Mess. And for those of you interested in all the details, they are here. (DON’T try to enter by leaving us a comment below this post. If you do that we don’t have anyway to get a hold of you.)

Hint: We’ve been playing Guess the Mess for several weeks now and it is clear that the winning players have read our earlier blog posts on How to Win Guess the Mess.  Good luck!

Update: Geologists who inspected the canyon wall above the rockfall have determined that mitigation is needed before I-70 can be opened. The extent of the work required and the schedule will be determined Tuesday morning. Meanwhile CDOT crews working below the unstable rock managed to break up about half of the 20 boulders that litter the roadway. This is likely to take some time.

Original Post: Around midnight, the mountain came tumbling down and landed smack on the highway along one of the steepest stretches of I-70 in Glenwood Canyon. The highway is closed in both directions as the CDOT engineers clear the boulders from the roadway and assess the damage to the highway. According to CDOT, “I-70 is not expected to open anytime soon.”

That’s not a very specific timeline but take a look at the pictures from the scene. The boulders punched at least one hole in the roadway, smashed guard rails and median barriers in a area where the elevated highway is tight against the canyon walls. It will take some time to move the rock and fix the multiple  sections of damaged roadway. In 2004, a similar rock slide kept the road completely closed for more than 24 hours; repairs took several months. In that slide, only the east side of the highway was damaged. Last night, both sides took a hit.

CDOT estimates that the largest of the 20 boulders is “66 tons.” So we will all wait a while until they can figure out what’s under it and what it takes to patch multiple “holes and dips” in the roadway. The westbound lane being the closest to the mountain took the hardest hit with one hole measuring 20 by 10 feet. The eastbound lane has a hole measuring 6 by 6 feet. Both lanes have multiple “dips” and areas that have rock embedded in the road.

Meanwhile, up above the road there is still a mountain of rock which needs to be inspected before anyone goes sailing down the highway. CDOT is sending several geologists up to take a look but it is a 2 hour hike up the cliff side to the area that broke away.

So if you are headed to Utah for an early spring break or coming home to Denver from Grand Junction you should plan on taking some extra time for your trip. The recommended detour headed west is to take US40 from Empire Junction to Steamboat and on to Craig, then SH13 through Meeker to rejoin I-70 at Rifle. (Or, going east, north on SH13 at Rifle to US40 at Craig then to Empire Junction and I-70.) According to Google search, this adds 105 miles and more than 3 hours to the trip. It is a beautiful ride but these are two lane mountain highways that go slowly through a series of small towns and have many tight turns and steep hills without passing lanes. Count on taking your time or book a seat on a train or plane.

For a while on Monday CDOT was telling people they could head south along US50, 160 and 285, especially if they were headed to a southern destination. Then they closed Monarch Pass on US50 due to heavy weather and multiple accidents. This is a good route if the weather is good and it is a bit shorter. But, it was snowing down south Monday; it is clear in the north. A traveler would be well advised to check the weather anytime before they set out across this southern route. Sometimes it is just better to wait it out, folks.

Update: What a wild night on Sunday. The usual Sunday afternoon rush hour came and went with the peak of the rush hour calculated at 5:16 with a 41 minute delay. We will be contacting the winners and will post the results as soon as they get back to us. Thanks for playing.

Guess the Mess is back! Test your knowledge of the driving conditions on I-70 and calculate the effects of weather on the trip home to Denver from a day in the mountains. Guess the time and extent of the greatest delay during eastbound rush hour on Sunday, March 7th.

The best guess will win a pair of lift tickets to Arapahoe Basin. Runner up prizes include 2 passes to the Vail Parking Garage, 2 pair of Teko ski socks and 2 GoI70 stainless steel water bottles – all useful prizes, not just schwag.

It is as easy as making a guess and sending a text message or an email. You can enter from your phone or your computer. Here is the short version of how to play Guess the Mess. And for those of you interested in all the details, they are here. (DON’T try to enter by leaving us a comment below this post. If you do that we don’t have anyway to get a hold of you.)

Hint: We’ve been playing Guess the Mess for several weeks now and it is clear that the winning players have read our earlier blog posts on How to Win Guess the Mess. Results of the first contest and winning times for last week’s contest are here. Good luck!

We asked Bob Wilson, the Public Relations Manager for the Colorado Department of Transportation, what most seemed to be on people’s mind this season. Without missing a beat he replied, “People want to know why we meter the Eisenhower Tunnel.”  GoI70 and COTRIP – CDOT’s excellent web site – will let you know when there is metering. Here is Bob Wilson’s explanation and some advice on what to do when CDOT is metering the tunnel. Read it and head it.

If you’ve driven Interstate 70 over the last few weekends, you’ve probably noticed there’s been an uptick in traffic along the corridor.  This isn’t surprising since the ski season is kicking into high gear.  However, the heavier traffic, especially eastbound on Sunday afternoons, has required the Colorado Department of Transportation to occasionally stop eastbound traffic at the Eisenhower Tunnel. These stops have been occurring for nearly 20 years but recently, we’ve been getting more questions than usual on why we’re doing it.  Good question with a simple answer that’s not always apparent: we do it for safety.

When we stop vehicles from entering the tunnel, it’s known as metering.  It usually occurs on eastbound I-70, right before you enter the west portal of the tunnel.  We meter when traffic volumes exceed the capacity of the corridor, or when there’s an accident or bad weather causes traffic to back up – or all of those things are occurring at once.  By stopping vehicles from entering the tunnel, it allows the existing back-ups inside of the tunnel to clear out.  Those stops usually last about 15 to 20 minutes because that’s about how long it usually takes to clear traffic from the tunnel.

The tipping point occurs when half the tunnel, about one mile, is at a dead stop.  That’s when we need the existing traffic to clear.  Inside the tunnel, there are only two lanes, no pull-outs or any shoulders.  On top of that, the vehicles are tightly wedged together.  All of that adds up to gridlock.  So if there’s a medical emergency, a fire (vehicle or otherwise), or some other problem in the tunnel or just outside of it, CDOT or some other entity, like the Colorado State Patrol, wouldn’t be able to respond.  Safety is CDOT’s first priority so we can’t let those types of conditions occur.

We also stop traffic – both eastbound and westbound – for other reasons as well.  Trucks carrying hazardous materials aren’t allowed to travel through the tunnel and must use Loveland Pass.  But adverse winter weather frequently closes the pass, requiring hazmat vehicles to travel through the tunnel.  CDOT does not allow hazmat to travel through the tunnel with other vehicles, again for safety.  So, usually at the top of the hour, we escort waiting hazmat loads through the tunnel.  Those closures usually last about 15 minutes.

As we move into March, which usually means more traffic due to additional snow and spring break, eastbound drivers should expect more metering on the weekends, primarily in the afternoon and usually on Sundays.  But please remember, tunnel metering can take place on eastbound and/or westbound I-70 at any time, for accidents, or for daytime avalanche control work.

You can call 511 from your cell phone or check our www.cotrip.org Web site – the information will be on the left side of the home page, under “Travel Alerts.”  We’ll also use the big electronic sign boards on I-70, and along Highways 6 and 9 to let drivers know when we’re metering.

Finally, be prepared before you head up to the tunnel.  If we’re metering, please stop in one of the Summit County towns and hit the restroom (especially if you have little ones with you), eat if you’re hungry and gas up your vehicle if it’s running low.  After you leave Silverthorne, the next services aren’t until the Georgetown area – 25 miles of no go, no fuel, and no food – but more frustration than you need as you finish off your day in Colorado’s high country.

Wet snow on the east side of the divide made the ride back to Denver quite unpredictable on the last day of February. Until mid-afternoon Sunday, it had been a very quiet – though busy – weekend for I-70 travel. As always, a little snow can make a big difference if drivers don’t adjust.

For those of you who were closely following our Guess the Mess contest, most of the afternoon it looked like the peak delay would be around 4:28 which would have made the vast majority of the entrants very close indeed. Then late in the afternoon a series of accidents brought travel to a halt. The peak delay as calculated by the GoI70 computer from CDOT data was at 6:46 when there was a 119 minute delay. In fact none of our players were so pessimistic.

We are contacting this week’s winners and will post their names by Friday. (If you think you have won, feel free to send us an email at games at goI70.com.)

Meanwhile, we have finally finalize the list of winners from our first Guess the Mess contest held on Sunday, February 21st. The first place winner was Eric Gever who won a pair of tickets to Copper Mountain. Sarah Walter took second and a pair of tickets to Arapahoe Basin. Runner-up prizes of a gift certificate to the Dillon Dam Brewery or a pair of Teko Ski socks were claimed by Emily Tracey, Bill Mathe, Ryan Hoelzer, Jim Davies, Marc Jensen and Sean Arkley. Congratulations to all our winners.

We are determined to make it worth your time to read this blog – this week’s first prize in our Guess the Mess contest is a 2 person, 2 day, 2 night ski package to Breckenridge Ski resort – it’s worth $1000.  Here is how to play and win Guess the Mess for Sunday, February 28th.

Playing is Simple

All you have to do is send us text message on our Messages Twitter channel or an email guessing what time on Sunday traffic will be at it’s slowest across the I-70 corridor as measured from Vail to Morrison on the western edge of the Denver metro region. You can enter at any time before 3 pm on Sunday, February 28th.

Tell us the time of the peak delay and how many extra minutes of travel delay exist on the road at that moment. Last week the correct answer was: 4:42 pm & 141 minutes (of extra travel time.)

Send us a message and you are entered. Detailed contest rules are here, but almost everyone who is 18 years old is eligible. You  can guess up to 3 times, the last guess is your final answer and entry for the contest.

Would you really like to win that resort package? Read the rest of this blog post on how to predict the peak time and extent of peak traffic. We will tell you everything you need to know to make a smart guess.

I-70 Traffic is Predictable

The flow of peak hour for weekend traffic on I-70 is predictable. If the roads are clear and nobody runs into the ditch while texting, then the the highway begins to fill up around 2 pm and very soon each extra car causes highway speeds to drop. Here is a graph of the delay on the I-70 corridor this past Sunday.

Eastbound I-70 travel delays for February, 2010

While we measure the trip from Vail to Morrison this is useful information for everyone whether you are traveling from Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin or Aspen. The most severe delays are on the east side of the tunnel between Georgetown and Idaho Springs; these effect everyone traveling the corridor.

How to Pick the Winning Time

On most days the absolute peak of the rush hour will be between 3 and 5 pm. If there is a lot of snow or a lot of people lingering late on the slopes then the peak will be later in that period. (Traffic will remain heavy and slow until 6 pm and perhaps a little later, but you are trying to guess the peak.)

Weather is the big unknown factor. Obviously, a big storm will make for a longer travel time and, sometimes, a storm will push the delay later in the day. But, a little bit of snow on the highway just as people are leaving the resorts will also have a delaying effect, especially if travelers in a hurry to get home push too hard and cause accidents.

The final factor that you will want to take in account is how many people seem to be in the mountains for the day. If the snow on the slopes is good and everyone in your church is on the slopes, then the peak will be more intense. If it is still good after lunch, then people will wait to the last minute to go home.

Want more information? Scroll on down and take a look at the many earlier blog posts that discuss past traffic jams if you want to get an idea of how consistent this pattern is.

Finally, some of the GoI70 crew will be making their guesses on the GoI70 Messages Twitter channel early in the day. Check them out – they can’t win the prize but they will give you some insight into what the pros think a good guess will be.

GoI70’s good friend and stellar Jackrabbit Sean caught the weekend in a haiku at 4:27 Sunday afternoon,

Basho by Kinkoku

Blows through the stop-sign,
Flies up the ramp at sixty five,
Walls of cars mock him.

Dig it. If you were on I-70 at that moment you understood.

The weekend of February 20th & 21st provided a good look at what happens when the irresistible force  – new snow on the slopes/time to get home – meets the immovable object – that would be the line of stopped cars just ahead. If you had started out from any of the resorts after a fine afternoon of new snow, you were looking at more than 3 hours of grind for an 1 hour and 20 minute trip. We’ll have a weekend recap up a little later.

If you are checking in to follow up on our 1st Guess the Mess contest, be patient. Peak delay for Sunday was 141 minutes at 4:42 pm. Most of the entrants were very low, but – hey – this is like horseshoes: close counts. We are checking the entries on email and the Messages network, then we will contact the winners and as soon as we have verified their eligibility. We will post the winners right here. Meanwhile you can start studying up for our next contest this weekend. More prizes, more competition.

Day skiers looking to meet up with friends or catch a carpool to the mountains can use the Dinosaur Lots  just off I-70 at Exit 259, the intersection of Morrison Road. They are convenient, easy to find and free.

Carpoolers with four or more riders qualify for free premier parking at Keystone or discounted lift tickets at A-Basin. The Dinosaur Lots have a lively meet up scene on weekends and holidays. It is a great place to pick up an extra rider to fill up your car.

The Dinosaur Lots are perfect for meeting people coming from any part of the metro area. They are located right at the mouth of Mount Vernon Canyon where I-70 enters the foothills. (Click here to find the Dinosaur Lots on the GoI70 map.) If you are going up I-70 you pass right by it.

The largest of the lots is the Wooly Mammoth which has 1181 free spots where day trippers can park to meet up with friends or catch a ride with someone headed their way. Wooly Mammoth is just west of Morrison Road at the intersection of US 40/State Highway 26 and I-70.

For folks coming through Golden, either west on Colfax or from the north – Westminster or Boulder – just follow US 40, turning right at the intersection immediately before the west on-ramp to I-70. The entrance to the Wooly Mammoth lot is 200 yards from the intersection.

Two smaller lots – the T-Rex and the Stegosaurus – are near by on the east side of US 40 and Morrison Road (State Highway 26). They provide several hundred more spaces. T-Rex can be seen on your right as you come off the ramp from West I-70 at Exit 259. The Stegosaurus lot is south on the Morrison Road just under the I-70 overpass.

This is a great resource provided by the Colorado Department of Transportation. Take advantage of it today. Save gas, save some money and meet up with someone to share the ride.

Discounts and Free Parking for Carpools

Carpoolers can take advantage of discounted lift tickets at A-Basin for anyone who arrives in a car with four or more passengers. Just take your carpool members to the ticket window to get $47 lift tickets, a $17 discount. More information is here.

Keystone offers free close-in premier parking at their Montezuma Lot for vehicles with four or more passengers. For more information check here.

Later in the season Copper Mountain offers Carpool Celebration Days. We’ll let you know about those in the weeks to come.

GoI70.com has a new mobile app to use on the road or on the slopes. We have stripped out the fat – it is much faster – and built up the features – now you can see traffic cams, ski reports and our blog, as well as having a quick reference to current traffic speeds and the GoI70 social network.

New Mobile App

The new app works for all kinds of phones – regular cell phones as well as all types of smart phones. Get your phone and take a look at it at http://goI70.com/mobile

In the weeks to come we will be adding extra features including suggestions for things to do in the towns and resorts along the corridor and favorite places for sitting out the traffic. Let us know what you would like to see by posting a comment below.

It is easier than ever to join in the conversation on our social network. We’ve made the mobile sign-up a little cleaner and faster. You can speed the process by registering at your computer on the website under the Messages tab. Learn more about the social network and our jackrabbits at our help pages.

We will be giving out four $25 gift certificates to the Dillon Dam Brewery for the best posts this month, so don’t be shy. Tell us about today’s trip – whether it is your observation about the highway, the slopes or towns. We want to know.

Prize Winners

The winners of our first GoI70 prize drawing are Jerry Shoe and Adam Johnson who will receive a lift ticket each to Copper Mountain. Greg Anastas will pick up a $25 gift certificate to the Dillon Dam Brewery for being our runner up in the drawing.

Winners were selected from the GoI70 email list.  The drawing was conducted by Random.org which is a third-party service that allows entrants to see that they were entered in the drawing and if they won without publicly exposing the list of entrants. This method was chosen to insure privacy and transparency. Questions and inquiries should be directed to info@goI70.com.

If you want to verify your results in the drawing you can go here. Enter your email address and Random.org will tell you if you are entered in the drawing and whether you have won. If you are listed as 1st or 2nd place winner you will receive your lift ticket upon verification of eligibility. (The rules are here.) If you are listed as the 3rd or 4th winner you will receive your gift certificate upon verification of eligibility.

The drawing was conducted by Random.org which is a third-party service that allows entrants to see that they were entered in the drawing and if they won without publicly exposing the list of entrants. This method was chosen to insure privacy and transparency. Questions and inquiries should be directed to info@goI70.com

February’s Star Jackrabbits

Star Jackrabbits GVC_Georgetown aka Sean Arkley and cosnow aka Devin Reams will receive $25 gift certificates to the Dillon Dam Brewery for their insightful contributions to the GoI70 Twitter stream over the last month. Thanks guys keep up the comments. We also want to thank Super Jackrabbit rsqrd aka Richard Weight for his frequent colorful commentary.

We will be giving out prizes next month for the best comments on the Messages social network and will be announcing a new prize drawing soon.

Guess the Mess is GoI70’s first big-time prize contest and educational game. The rules for playing and winning are set out in detail here. Just post your best guess for the extent and timing of the Sunday peak traffic delay to the GoI70 Messages network either on your computer or your mobile phone.

Smart contestants will want to know the ebb and flow of traffic on I-70. Since we want everyone to have a fair chance, this post will tell you what you need to know to make a smart guess. The prizes are terrific – two pair of lift tickets to Arapahoe Basin and Copper Mountain- and the competition will be hot, read carefully!

Guess the Mess allows you I-70 lovers (and haters) a chance to demonstrate your traffic insight and traveler’s savvy. To win you must predict the extent and timing of the traffic delay at the Sunday eastbound peak along the I-70 corridor from Vail to Morrison. By identifying the height of the jam on Sunday, you will also know the best time to be off the highway, enjoying dinner or shopping in our mountain towns.

I-70 Traffic is Predictable

The flow of peak hour traffic on I-70 is predictable. If the roads are clear and nobody runs into the median while texting his current position, then the the highway begins to fill up around 2 pm and very soon each extra car causes highway speeds to drop.

There are several key points where traffic slows first – the approach to the Eisenhower Tunnel, the bottom of Georgetown hill thru Empire Junction and the narrow turns through Idaho Springs. Speeds on Vail Pass tend to depend as much on the current weather conditions as on the volume of cars. You can watch these spots in near real time on the GoI70 Travel Planning tab or on the GoI70 mobile app at http://goI70.com/mobile.

Presidents Day Traffic

Last Monday was Presidents Day and it is a good example of what to expect this Sunday. The Y axis shows the additional time that it would take someone leaving Vail at the time found along the X axis. The delay is calculated as the traveler makes the 82 mile, 1 hour and 20 minute trip back to Denver’s western gateway.

Put another way the worst moment to leave Vail would have been at 4:15 when your travel time would have been an extra 66 minutes. That’s time enough for dinner and by 6 the delay was only a few minutes.
No, we are not picking on Vail. We just have good data from Colorado Department of Transportation for that trip. Since most of the delay was between Silverthorne and the Twin Tunnels, travelers from all the resorts experienced similar delays. Skipping over Loveland Pass was no answer either – a small avalanche put a stop to that short cut Monday. These are all classic Sunday and holiday traffic dynamics.

A Quick History

The snow was great Sunday, February 22, 2009; the ride home was long.

One more, here is what happened the year before as a Pacific storm came in during the afternoon.

A Few Conclusions

These three examples give a very nice picture of the normal range of traffic delays that might happen this coming Sunday.

1. The slowdown will begin between 2 and 4 pm.
2. The onset is rapid – the highway gets slow in a hurry.
3. The peak comes between 3:30 and 5, unless something happens on the highway.
4. Weather matters. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot.

Simple, eh! Now check the weather, add your own insight and make a guess. Will the highway be faster or slower than Presidents Day? February 22, 2009? February 24, 2008? What time will it peak? Guess the Mess and have a great day in the mountains.

Traffic Data Courtesy CDOT, processing by Western Analytics

Beautiful day to be in the mountains.  As Sunday begins, it looks like the morning rush will be less severe than Saturday’s, but evening travelers can expect to encounter afternoon snow falling on stretches of the highway. A winter storm alert is in effect until Monday morning. Come prepared for snowy roads and lots of company.

Good snow in the mountains and on the roads told the story Saturday, February 20th. Travelers on I-70 Saturday had to take their time getting up to the mountains with one of the seasons’ biggest traffic delays going west early in the morning.  Icy conditions on Floyd Hill caused long delays – along the length of the corridor waits of over an hour lasted from 7 am to 9.

The ride back home followed normal patterns for this time of year with the highway filling up and slowing down dramatically between 3 and 4 pm. The jam topped out at 5:34 pm with a 78 minute delay on an 82 mile trip.

Good skiing and riding, and a winter storm alert will make getting the right answer for the GoI70 Guess the Mess contest just a bit more challenging. Enjoy the day in the mountains and be safe!

Guess the Mess is back! Test your knowledge of the driving conditions on I-70 and calculate the effects of weather on the trip home to Denver from a day in the mountains. Guess the time and extent of the greatest delay during eastbound rush hour on Sunday, March 7th.

The best guess will win a pair of lift tickets to Arapahoe Basin. Runner up prizes include 2 passes to the Vail Parking Garage, 2 pair of Teko ski socks and 2 GoI70 stainless steel water bottles – all useful prizes, not just schwag.

It is as easy as making a guess and sending a text message or an email. You can enter from your phone or your computer. Here is the short version of how to play Guess the Mess. And for those of you interested in all the details, they are here.

Hint: We’ve been playing Guess the Mess for several weeks now and it is clear that the winning players have read our earlier blog posts on How to Win Guess the Mess. Results of the first contest and winning times for last week’s contest are here. Good luck!