Westbound I-70 delays in Glenwood Canyon as CDOT makes emergency repairs at Hanging Lake Tunnel
Crews are replacing the lift-door system between the tunnel's maintenance complex and the westbound lanes through the end of October, with single-lane closures and traffic holds of up to 10 minutes, CDOT says.
Drivers heading west on Interstate 70 from Eagle County toward Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction should budget extra time through Glenwood Canyon this month. The Colorado Department of Transportation and its contract partner, Structures Inc., have begun emergency repair work on the Hanging Lake Tunnel on westbound I-70 in Glenwood Canyon, from Mile Point 125 to 126, according to a CDOT announcement. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of October.
What drivers will encounter
Traffic impacts began Tuesday, Oct. 6. Work hours are Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Fridays from 7 a.m. to noon. During those hours, motorists can expect westbound single-lane closures and shoulder closures, with traffic holds of up to 10 minutes before the tunnel, CDOT says. Traffic fines are doubled in the work zone. CDOT urges motorists to slow down as they approach the work zone, drive with caution, allow extra space between vehicles and give themselves extra travel time.
The details above come from CDOT's project announcement, and conditions in a work zone can change. CDOT directs travelers to check COtrip.org for current road conditions and travel information before setting out, rather than relying on a schedule published days earlier. The announced traffic impacts apply to the westbound side of the interstate; the release does not list closures for eastbound lanes.
What is being repaired
The project involves removing three-panel metal vertical lift doors, guide angles, counterweight systems, metal frames and lifting mechanisms that separate the Cinnamon Creek Complex maintenance area from the westbound I-70 lanes of the tunnel, according to CDOT. Replacing these components will ensure safer access to the Hanging Lake Tunnel maintenance facility, the department says.
The tunnel itself is a piece of infrastructure western Colorado depends on daily. The Hanging Lake Tunnel consists of a pair of 4,000-foot tunnels on I-70 in Glenwood Canyon, completed in 1992 as part of the project to build a safe, efficient highway through the canyon, according to CDOT. The tunnel houses one of four CDOT operations centers, a facility that provides live traffic monitoring, emergency response coordination and communication services for much of western Colorado.
For Vail Valley residents, the canyon is the only interstate route west, linking Eagle County to Glenwood Springs, the Roaring Fork Valley and Grand Junction. Lane closures at the tunnel ripple back along that route, which is why a maintenance-area door system, invisible to most drivers passing through, is worth a headline: until the end of October, it sets the pace of westbound travel.
