DENVER (KDVR) — The first of many expected travel headaches was announced Sunday afternoon by the Colorado Department of Transportation, which closed a portion of eastbound Interstate 70 due to safety concerns.
The eastbound lanes of the interstate were closed as of 4:10 p.m. on Sunday between Exit 180 and Exit 190, or East Vail and Vail Pass Summit.
CDOT told FOX31 at about 5:20 p.m. that the closure was due to multiple semitrailers that had spun out in the area, and that there was no timeline for the roadway to reopen. The roadway reopened at about 9 p.m.
At about 5:40 p.m., safety concerns were reported on westbound I-70 at the Eisenhower Johnson Memorial Tunnel, closing the roadway. It reopened at about 7 p.m., according to CDOT. The roadway had been closed between Loveland Pass (exit 216) and Silverthorne (exit 205) due to multiple crashes on the west side of the tunnel.
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CDOT cameras of the highway showed wet, heavy snow and a parking lot of vehicles in the eastbound lanes as of about 4:20 p.m. Snow could be seen covering some lanes of the highway in places.
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This CDOT road camera image shows traffic backups on eastbound Interstate 70 at about 4:20 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024.
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This CDOT road camera image shows traffic backups on westbound Interstate 70 at about 5:45 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024.
Snow is expected to continue into Monday morning, and another round of snow is anticipated on Tuesday into Wednesday. That second round is expected to be stronger than the first, and will likely impact Thanksgiving travel plans both by land and air.
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