On Friday, Feb. 25, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Colorado leaders, lawmakers and transportation professionals on a site visit near I-70 at Floyd Hill,
an area that is the gateway to the Colorado Rockies and over the years, has become a chokepoint for motorists using the I-70 mountain corridor. Here are some takeaways from that site visit:
– The I-70 Floyd Hill pinch point, where three lanes squeeze into two going westbound on a 6 percent grade, reduces capacity from 6,000 vehicles to 3,600 vehicles an hour.
– Rebuilding I-70 at Floyd Hill is the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) next big project. The $700 million project aims to reduce congestion, expand capacity, replace a deficient bridge, make interchange improvements, extend bike and pedestrian trails, build two wildlife crossings, install air quality monitoring stations and implement a new transit service called Pegasus.
– To address transportation demand on I-70 CDOT will implement Pegasus, a 14-passenger van service, as early as May 2022. Equipped with Wi-Fi, charging stations and bike and ski storage, these vans will shuttle riders between Union Station and Avon, with stops in Idaho Springs, Frisco and Vail.
– CDOT selected design and construction partners for the project in January 2022. They expect early stage work to start this summer and see the entire project finished in five years.
“The Floyd Hill project is the I-70 Coalition’s top priority project for the mountain corridor, one we have been advocating for at the state and federal levels for many years,” said Margaret Bowes, Director of the I-70 Coalition. “As the project moves toward construction, we’re especially excited about the integration of transit solutions, like Pegasus, which provides I-70 travelers with another mobility option and will ultimately help address I-70 congestion for years to come.”
To learn more about this project, check out The Colorado Sun’s coverage or visit CDOT’s website.