VAIL | The Colorado Department of Transportation has a new plan to smooth traffic on Interstate 70, where the Eisenhower Tunnel often clogs on ski weekends.
CDOT will try converting the eastbound highway near the tunnel from two lanes into to four on heavy-traffic days by using the existing shoulders, the Vail Daily reported last week (https://goo.gl/FODtC ).
The four lanes would have fast-cycling traffic lights like the ones use on some freeway entrance ramps during heavy traffic.
The area near the tunnel is usually a bottleneck because the three eastbound lanes currently funnel into two. It’s where traffic clogs worst on Sunday afternoons and evenings as skiers head back to Denver and the airport.
Because the plan will use the existing shoulders, no widening work will be needed.
CDOT spokeswoman Stacy Stegman said the new system could replace “metering” at the tunnels. That system stopped traffic on the west side of the tunnels but led to long delays.
“For every minute you delay traffic, it can take between four and eight minutes to get it moving again,” Stegman said. “That means a 20-minute delay can turn into 90 minutes.”
The new system will get its first test next month, just as holiday traffic starts to really build, Stegman said. That first test will use a combination of human flaggers and traffic lights.
The state has started its winter-season “courtesy patrols,” in which tow trucks will be available to get broken-down motorists to safety.