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[Plutonic Panda]

This project will get 100 million in federal grant money.

https://www.coloradopolitics.com/quick-hits/colorado-s-i-70-floyd-hill-project-awarded-100-million-in-federal-grant/article_48929688-32b7-11ed-a641-bfed404233a6.html

PS, anyway we can the thread title to change now? 

Sure.  I just changed the title to this: I-70 in Colorado: Mountain Corridor Upgrades.

Many thanks. 🙏

[kphoger]

Many thanks. 🙏

Let the argument begin...

[Great Lakes Roads]

The ground has been broken on the I-70's Floyd Hill project!

[Plutonic Panda]

Here’s another article on it:

https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/colorado-officials-break-ground-on-700m-i-70-project/58557

Oh man this will be so nice when finished.

[andy3175]

https://www.9news.com/amp/article/travel/cdot-fines-closed-i-70-mountain-toll-lanes/73-696d2e1a-b0b0-4f8f-8eef-b0e6714541a0

CDOT has issued zero fines for driving in closed I-70 mountain toll lanes — turns out it can't: CDOT said its current system cannot issue citations, but warns driving in closed lanes is illegal, dangerous and unfair. ...

Despite the Colorado legislature giving the agency the authority starting in summer 2022 to fine drivers up to $250 for using the lanes while they're closed, CDOT said it hasn't fined a single driver.

The legislature said there were 47,828 instances of vehicles using the lanes while closed in 2020.

CDOT spokesperson Tim Hoover said red tape has slowed down the agency's efforts to develop new technology that can issue citations. The current camera system can detect drivers using the lanes while they're closed -- and even capture their license plates -- but it's only set up to issue tolls, not citations, Hoover said.  ...

State patrol troopers can still issue tickets for illegal use of the lanes.

CDOT has explained before: it can only open the Mountain Express Lanes for a certain number of days per year, because they're technically not highway lanes.

Instead, Hoover said, they are "peak period shoulder lanes." The federal government said the eastbound lane can only be open 100 days a year, and the westbound lane can only be open 125 days a year.

When the new citation system is ready to come online, Hoover said, "the hammer is going to come down."

CDOT plans to wait a month once it turns on its new system -- which is currently being piloted on the westbound lane -- before issuing citations to drivers who use the lanes while closed, he said.

[zzcarp]

CDOT has explained before: it can only open the Mountain Express Lanes for a certain number of days per year, because they're technically not highway lanes.

Instead, Hoover said, they are "peak period shoulder lanes." The federal government said the eastbound lane can only be open 100 days a year, and the westbound lane can only be open 125 days a year.

That is the worst part of these "lanes". They really are never open. They "could" be open 100 to 125 days per year, but I suggest it is less in reality. Many, many times traffic has been backed up in the GP lanes just to have the so-called peak period lanes closed. What a waste of taxpayer dollars-two construction seasons of work for basically zero benefit.

[Plutonic Panda]

Lol I’ll take the heat here I always drive in these lanes regardless. Come at me haha

[Great Lakes Roads]

Well, this project has since gotten a little bit crazier than I thought!

WB I-70 will be on a long bridge structure as you go down on Floyd Hill (and switch sides so EB I-70 will be to your right for about a half-mile)...

https://connect-lumenrt360projecttours.bentley.com/?UserId=2b3a199678e8c96249351c99ebc4d3e0&DataId=1b9a494a-f361-40b4-ada3-5a2a1453503e

Link to the public meeting:

[rte66man]

Eisenhower Turns 50
https://coloradosun.com/2023/03/09/eisenhower-tunnel-turns-50-cdot-celebrates/

As Eisenhower Tunnel turns 50, Colorado celebrates with talk of a facelift for the crucial I-70 link
The highest point anywhere on I-70, the westbound tunnel and its eastbound twin have provided safe passage through the mountain for millions of vehicles.

Joshua Perry
3:40 AM MST on Mar 9, 2023

Thousands of vehicles travel through Eisenhower Tunnel on Interstate 70 each day. But on Wednesday, for a brief moment, the traffic stopped to let just three pass: a 1970 Plymouth Fury police cruiser, an antique fire truck, and a MG sports car of a similar vintage.

The procession was part of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s celebration of the Eisenhower Tunnel’s 50th anniversary.

Since the tunnel opened on March 8, 1973, millions of cars have crossed under the Continental Divide through the passage. When the ribbon was cut on the tunnel, 44.3 feet high and 47.5 feet wide, the $110 million price tag was the most expensive highway project ever embarked on by the U.S. government. Three men died during the five years of construction.

CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew said the Eisenhower Tunnel provided a safe, accessible alternative to driving on riskier mountain passes and changed the character of the state forever.

“For the last five decades, 50 years, the Eisenhower Tunnel has served as a great connector, tying east and west together in Colorado,” she said, speaking to a small crowd at the tunnel’s eastern opening. “It has provided a critical life saving link, moving goods and services, and helped to mark Colorado as a world class mountain destination.”

Many travelers through the tunnel might not realize that it’s more than just a simple passageway through the mountains. Managing the 1.7-mile passage requires a control room, where operators monitor the flow of traffic on walls of screens, a generator room, a sprinkler system, a water treatment system and even a fire truck.

Jessica Myklebust, CDOT’s Denver metro region director, said the look of the tunnel, through which 524,151 vehicles passed last month, can be deceiving.

“It is an around-the-clock operation with men and women with special technical expertise who keep the tunnel open and safe,” she said. “Since the tunnel opened in 1973, we have not had one fatality in either of the tunnels.”

At 50, there’s a certain historical charm to the look and feel of Eisenhower Tunnel, but it’s also in need of regular maintenance, and maybe a makeover. Much of the equipment inside the tunnel system — like its 600-horsepower industrial fans (all 28 of them) capable of producing hurricane-force winds to clear noxious fumes — is original, or at least old.

As part of CDOT’s 10 Year Plan for infrastructure investment, the Eisenhower Tunnel, and its eastbound partner, the slightly younger Johnson Tunnel, will have a $150 million update completed by 2024. Some minor work already has been done, but more robust renovation projects, like an automatic de-icing system, are slated to begin soon, CDOT spokesperson Presley Fowler said. However, it’ll still be the tunnel Colorado’s loved for 50 years, she said.

“We don’t want to change the look and the feel of the tunnel,” she said. “That’s really been an important aspect while planning these infrastructure upgrades and repairs — making sure to honor the history.”

For decades, the tunnel has made traveling through the mountains much safer and efficient, CDOT spokeswoman Tamara Rollison said. In her view, Colorado wouldn’t be the state it is today without this critical link through its alpine reaches.

“It’s hard for me to say what it’s going to be like 50 years from now for the tunnel, but it will be here continuing to serve the state, I’m sure of that,” Rollison said. “And it will continue to be a vital connection for years to come.”