Weather
I-70 Blizzard: Chain Laws In Effect, Dangerous Driving UPDATE
CDOT cleared mountain highways closed Saturday night, but required chains or traction to travel.
GOLDEN, CO -- CDOT announced early Sunday morning that some of the mountain highways leading to ski country were cleared after a white-out winter storm. Holiday travelers who waited until the Christmas weekend to take a trip to ski country got more snow than they bargained for Saturday, as cars became stranded on mountain roads. Mountain driving became impossible as blowing snow caused low visibility on I-70 and US 40 and caused the Colorado Dept. of Transportation to close the roads. To add to the misery, power was out in the Eisenhower and Johnson Memorial Tunnels which also affected lights on the highway and digital message boards, CDOT reported.
Around 5 a.m. CDOT tweeted that I-70 was reopened for cars with traction devices (chains) on wheels, or 4-wheel drive vehicles.
Saturday night, I-70 between Golden and Vail was shut down. Visibility was said to be at 5 feet with blowing snow. About 9 p.m., CDOT announced US 40 was also closed both ways at Rabbit Ears pass because of low visibility with no plans to reopen the road. CDOT said on Twitter that personnel were having difficulty using radios and had to communicate with cell phones.
Find out what's happening in Goldenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"Snow is currently falling faster than it’s possible for our plows to keep up," CDOT tweeted.
Drivers stuck in the lines of traffic complained that they waited hours crawling slowly in blizzard conditions, only to be told to turn around.
Find out what's happening in Goldenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Colorado State Patrol posted that I-70 was closed and drivers would be rerouted. A no-cost shelter for stranded drivers (and their pets) was opened at Vail City Hall 75 S. Frontage Rd. W.
Early Sunday morning, snowplows reopened the canyon roads.
Crews prepping to do a staged release on WB I-70 at Morrison Road. A plow will escort motorists through closure point. pic.twitter.com/okFj7DWXOZ
— CDOT (@ColoradoDOT) December 24, 2017
Snow & strong NW winds will continue thru midnight in the high country w/improving conditions overnight. Lower elev: snow will persist thru mid-evening before improving near midnight. #COwx pic.twitter.com/g0jrrOzB6q
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) December" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/NWSBoulder... 24, 2017
Image via National Weather Service
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