Dangerous Stretch Of Highway 9 Focus Of State Troopers

SILVERTHORNE, Colo. (CBS4)- A stretch of highway in the mountains has become dangerous over the past few years and now there's a plan to make it safer.

Over the past decade, every deadly accident on Highway 9 between Kremmling and Silverthorn has happened along the same 10-mile stretch. That stretch is notorious for speeding and other bad driving habits.

That stretch of the highway has blind curves, short passing zones and frequent wildlife crossings, all which compound a problem that is well known to Colorado State Patrol.

"It's got a fair amount of traffic for a small sized road," said CSP Trooper Colin Remillard.

The two-line highway sees hundreds of cars a day.

"There are not a lot of options here but a head-on collision," said Remillard.

The 10-mile stretch is the deadliest on the entire 140-mile long highway. There were nine deadly crashes in that section between 2006 and 2015, the most recent year the Colorado Department of Transportation could provide data for. More than half of those were head-on collisions.

"On one side you can have the reservoir, which you obviously don't want to go into and the other side you've got a steep grade that you can't go anywhere," said Remillard. "So if somebody drifts over into the center line, there is nowhere else to go but head-on. So that's a big factor."

Troopers are stepping up patrols which means more tickets for speeders and people passing in the double-yellow line zones.