I-70 Westbound Bakerville to Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel Climbing Lane Environmental Study

I-70 EJMT Bakerville Auxilliary Lane location - winter roadway

About the Project

CDOT is evaluating improvements to approximately 6 miles of westbound Interstate 70 (I-70) in Clear Creek County, west of Georgetown, Colorado. The I-70 Westbound Bakerville to Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel Climbing Lane Project (Project) would add a westbound auxiliary or climbing lane on I-70 between the Bakerville interchange (approximate milepost 221) to the east portal of the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels (approximate milepost 215).

The Project is one of several auxiliary lane projects identified as a “specific highway improvement” in the Preferred Alternative Minimum Program of highway improvements in the I-70 Mountain Corridor Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) Record of Decision (ROD). It addresses a location of steep grades along the corridor where conflicts between slow-moving vehicles and other traffic cause safety and mobility issues.

The project will also evaluate improvements to the Loveland interchange at I-70 and US 6, which was identified for improvement in the PEIS due to short on- and off-ramps and high concentrations of crashes, as well as wildlife mitigation to reduce the impact of I-70 on wildlife movement in the Mountain Corridor.

Over the next 18 months, CDOT will complete a Tier 2 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and concept engineering for the project. The project will follow the 6-Step I-70 Mountain Corridor Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) process.