Summer Traffic Season Underway Tomorrow

May 26, 2016 - Denver Metro Colorado/CDOT Region 1 - The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is reminding drivers to anticipate heavy traffic in many areas of the state over the Memorial Day weekend due to the number of events and social activities taking place throughout the state to kick off the summer season.

All CDOT construction and maintenance projects will be suspended by Friday afternoon and will not resume their regular schedule untilTuesday, May 31.  The only exception is for emergency operations. 

Heavier than normal traffic should be anticipated along Front Range and mountain highways.  Westbound Interstate 70 is expected to experience additional traffic on Friday and Saturday.  On Memorial Day, motorists should be prepared for longer drive times along eastbound I-70, especially from Summit County to the Denver area. 

Last year’s traffic numbers at the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial Tunnels:

Westbound

Eastbound

Total

Friday, May 22, 2015

22,940

14,167

37,107

Saturday, May 23, 2015

18,642

12,467

31,109

Sunday, May 24, 2015

14,413

16,176

30,589

Monday, May 25, 2015

13,375

21,579

34,954

Total

69,370

64,389

133,759

Seasonal roads opening for the season include State Highway 82 over Independence Pass between Twin Lakes and Aspen (opened today), State Highway 5 – the Mount Evans Highway (State Highway 5) - will open to Summit Lake on Friday, and to the summit on Memorial Day.  Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park, Cottonwood Pass and Guanella Pass all open tomorrow. All of these roadways remain open through the summer – weather permitting

Information regarding the opening and closing of seasonal highways in Colorado is available at all times on the cotrip.org website, by calling 511, or via subscription e-mail or text.  To subscribe, please visit www.codot.gov and click on the small letter icon at the bottom of the page. The link takes you to a list of items you can subscribe to, including General Travel Information – Seasonal Mountain Pass Closures/Openings.