I-70 reopens as winter storm, heavy snow cause travel issues throughout Colorado
The winter storm hitting Colorado from Wednesday into Friday is bringing a lot of heavy snow with it, expected to pile up in feet in some places in the mountains. First Alert Chief Meteorologist Dave Aguilera said that Colorado is on track to get a "second wave" of snow as the storm system continues to target the state.
There are still several major roadways closed in the mountains and along the Front Range, although I-70 reopened on Thursday afternoon. The Colorado Department of Transportation reopened the portion of I-70 between Silverthorne and Morrison about 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
"For I-70, our crews have had to deal with tractor trailers not chaining up and when that happens, they jackknife, that just causes a lot of problems on top of keeping the roads open with all of the heavy snow we've been getting," said Tamara Rollison with CDOT. "They've been doing a tremendous job."
CDOT said that due to the extreme weather expected to continue through Friday morning, there are commercial motor vehicle restrictions on I-70 from mile marker 169- Eagle/Vail to mile marker 259- Morrison. That means that CMVs will not be allowed on that stretch of I-70 until noon on Friday.
The Colorado Department of Transportation is asking drivers to be cautious before they hit the streets and check COTrip before starting their journey.
"A lot of the roads are looking better but we are advising motorists to not get too secure with that. We're absolutely urging people to stay off the roads today, tonight and through the morning because it's likely to get worse before it gets better," said Rollison.
On Thursday, a semi-truck driver lost control on the westbound C-470 exit to I-25 which resulted in a fuel leak and hazmat issue, in addition to the semi sliding off the road.
SCHOOL CLOSINGS: Colorado School Closings
Snow totals from the storm so far across the metro area vary wildly. As of 12 p.m., Highlands Ranch on the southern end had 18 inches and Golden on the western side had 16.5 inches. It has been three years since the metro area has seen snow totals that high. On the northeastern side, it has been a different story. Denver International Airport has only recorded 1.1 inches so far, although there have been plenty of flight delays and cancellations out of the Mile High City. Accumulation in the foothills is even higher, with communities like Evergreen getting more than 25 inches.
"We want people to be aware that we could be getting another wave of snow in the I-25 Monument area, so there is the potential for a closure there later on," said Rollison. "My main message is it's not over yet. We have a lot of weather to go through before we're out of this."
Snowplows have been fighting to keep up with all the work, and many side streets are so far unplowed and hard to drive on.
