Vail Pass rest stop now open in Colorado after years of delays

After years of funding setbacks, supply chain snags and snowstorms that cut construction seasons short, the long-awaited Vail Pass Rest Area is finally open.

The new building sits at 10,500 feet, one of the more challenging places in Colorado to complete a project like this, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Inside are upgraded restrooms and exhibits that highlight the history of Vail Pass. Outside, the expanded parking lot now offers more room for semi-trucks and travelers who are forced to wait out storms or closures on I-70.

"It's not easy," said Hope Wright, the rest area project manager. "We have short construction windows, unpredictable weather, difficult logistics. Every piece of material and equipment had to be carefully planned and staged to get the work done right."

Local bikers Sara and Paul Schnabel of Silverthorne have been waiting years for this reopening. They often ride past the rest stop and say they've been caught in hailstorms before with nowhere reliable to go.

"We're hoping it's now a dependable rest stop because, before, it was closed half the time," Paul said.

The project was supposed to wrap in October 2023, but delays pushed completion nearly two years past schedule and almost $1 million over budget. 

CDOT says the wait was worth it, with modern, safe and sustainable facilities now in place to serve both visitors and highway crews. CDOT said it's excited the project was completed before another winter went by, delaying the project even further.