I-70 Floyd Hill
Project Update | Rock Blasting Complete
Major rock blasting operations are complete and will not require daily traffic holds. Please read the I-70 Floyd Hill Project Frequently Asked Questions for information on the Project. Subscribe to text alerts by texting floydhill (one word) to 21000 for information on additional traffic impacts, or the occasional rock blast as needed.
About the Project
The I-70 Floyd Hill Project encompasses an eight-mile section of the I-70 Mountain Corridor from west of Evergreen to eastern Idaho Springs that acts as an economic gateway for the state of Colorado and the nation. Home to long-time residents, dozens of large and small businesses and tourism traffic, this section of I-70 is in desperate need of improvements.
Adjusted Estimated Project Cost
In 2020, the estimated Project cost was $700 million based on a preliminary conceptual design. As design progressed toward final, more Project details became known. Since 2020, the transportation industry faced cost pressures such as rising construction and material costs, which directly impacted the I-70 Floyd Hill Project. The 2025 cost to deliver the Project as scoped is now $905 million.
Westbound I-70 will be in its new alignment by the end of 2027 and eastbound I-70 will be in its new alignment by the end of 2028, with the entire Project complete in 2029. The adjusted completion date, extending from 2028 to 2029, provides the Project team with additional time to refine the design and timeline to address seasonal environmental constraints.
Work this Week & Lane Closures I-70 Floyd Hill
Project Facts
- Construction Cost: $905 million (Refer to Adjusted Estimated Project Cost for details)
- Contractor: Kraemer North America
- Timeline: July 2023 to 2029 (Refer to Adjusted Project Timeline for details)
- Location: I-70
- Nearest Town: Idaho Springs
- Mile Points: 241 to 248
- County: Clear Creek County
I-70 Floyd Hill Project Map
The I-70 Floyd Hill Project will:
- Add a third westbound I-70 travel lane in this two-lane bottleneck to improve travel time reliability. This new lane will be a full-time, tolled Express Lane from just west of Homestead Road (Exit 247) to Colorado Blvd./Idaho Springs (Exit 241).
- Change the alignment of I-70 from the middle of Floyd Hill to the Veterans Memorial Tunnels to straighten roadway curves, which will improve safety and sight distance.
- Rebuild bridges due to heavy usage and wear and tear.
- Add a two-mile section of frontage road between the US 6 and Hidden Valley/Central City Parkway interchanges, which will improve resiliency and emergency response.
- Move the current left-merge US 6 on-ramp to westbound I-70 to the Hidden Valley/Central City Parkway (Exit 243) interchange to improve safety and operations.
- Build an extended on-ramp from US 6 onto eastbound I-70 to give slow-moving vehicles more room to merge.
- Improve traffic flow at interchanges and intersections by adding roundabouts on US 40 at County Road 65 (Exit 248) and Homestead Road (Exit 247), and at the I-70 and Hidden Valley/Central City Parkway (Exit 243) interchange.
- Improve the Clear Creek Greenway trail and resurface it with concrete.
- Implement environmental mitigation to enhance wildlife connectivity, air and water quality, stream conditions and recreation.
- Install two permanent air quality monitors.
Traffic Impacts
During construction, motorists can expect:
- Major rock scaling and blasting operations requiring traffic holds are complete. Rock blasting may still be required as work progresses and if unexpected rock is encountered.
- If rock blasting operations are required, motorists can expect daytime 20-minute traffic holds on I-70, resulting in delays of up to 45 minutes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, and 9 a.m. to noon on Fridays.
- Holds can also occur on Central City Parkway, County Road 314, US 6 and US 40.
- Be sure to sign up for text alerts to receive notice about these operations by texting ‘floydhill’ to 21000.
- Daytime and nighttime single and double lane closures
- Temporary traffic shifts resulting in new traffic patterns
- Temporary on- and off-ramp closures
- Periodic overnight detours in the I-70/US 6 interchange and short-term closures of I-70 for safety critical work
- Reduced speed limit as low as 45 MPH through the work zone
- Narrower lanes and shoulders adjacent to concrete barrier
- Trucks entering and exiting the work zone (do not follow them into the work zone)
- Long-term closure of the Clear Creek Greenway Trail
Efforts to keep I-70 moving during construction include:
- Keeping all lanes and ramps open during peak travel hours
- Ensuring lane closures are responsive to current traffic patterns
- Innovating complex work above the roadway so it doesn’t impede traffic
- Building new roadway sections adjacent to current lanes to keep traffic moving
- Coordinating with nearby and other I-70 Mountain Corridor projects
- Coordinating and meeting regularly with emergency first responders
- Providing emergency pull-off areas
- Promoting the use of transit and carpool options to reduce low occupancy vehicles on I-70
Future I-70 Floyd Hill
Explore design renderings of the I-70 Floyd Hill Project and access the latest I-70 Floyd Hill Project Flyover Rendering below.
Major Project elements pictured below depict the following:
- New westbound I-70 Express Lane being built between west of Homestead Road (Exit 247) to Colorado Boulevard/Idaho Springs (Exit 241)
- New 115-foot tall bridge that will carry westbound I-70 traffic in a new alignment that shifts the highway south into the hillside above Clear Creek
- Braided configuration of eastbound and westbound I-70
- New frontage road connecting US 6 to the Hidden Valley/Central City Parkway (Exit 243) interchange
Check all design renderings in the I-70 Floyd Hill project photos.
