WORST location for a traffic incident/road closure?

[vdeane]

For the Buffalo-Niagara region, obviously anything involving free I-90 in Buffalo creates major headaches for drivers but I think anything involving the Grand Island bridges is definitely in the conversation too. Those bridges can barely handle the traffic they receive in normal conditions, and an accident or lane closure is instantly a major bottleneck, made worse by the lack of alternate routes to/from or around the island.

There was a southbound lane closure on the South Grand Island Bridge yesterday that I am glad to see was publicized well in advance, because it created a major backup that started before 9AM and lasted well into the evening hours. That merge right before the bridge is gnarly at the best of times, but with only a single lane taking turns at the merge, forget about it. I was passing through on a day trip yesterday (heading north) and when we saw how bad it was in the morning I kept an eye on it through the day and ended up going around the island on US 62 on the return trip. I considered taking the LaSalle Expressway to NY 265, but things on Grand Island were so bad that the LaSalle's eastern terminus and NY 265 in North Tonawanda were backed up too, so I opted for the mostly four-lane US 62. There was some paving work resulting in a lane closure for a few miles which was less than ideal, and traffic was notably heavy in the southbound direction, but it moved pretty well and we reached I-290 without encountering any major delays.

The northbound closure(s) in a couple of weeks shouldn't be as bad for a few reasons. For one, SB traffic is heavier on Sunday due to Falls day trippers and weekend tourism, and for another the backup being on the mainland creates more options for getting around and prevents too much traffic from coalescing around a single point. When you're on the island you're kind of stuck unless you want to go back to the North bridges (and once you pass Exit 19 you're really stuck), but from the mainland side you'll get more traffic finding their way to Exit 17 on local roads or actively choosing to bypass the island via a variety of different routes.

I wonder if any traffic that went to Canada thought to go down to the Peace Bridge.

[1995hoo]

I don't know if it's necessarily the "worst," but an overturned tractor-trailer in a work zone on the Beltway this morning led to a fairly extraordinary situation:

https://x.com/VaDOTNOVA/status/1835664159301681459

[webny99]

wonder if any traffic that went to Canada thought to go down to the Peace Bridge.

Oh, absolutely. That was my first thought too until we saw the VMS on the QEW that said there was a 90-minute car delay at Fort Erie. That was no doubt caused or at least exacerbated by traffic from Canada seeking an alternate to I-190.

At that point, we decided to just get across the border first and figure it out from there (which was great because I was then able to clinch NY 182 and get some new mileage on US 62 out of it).

[CNGL-Leudimin]

A section of French road N134 just South of Urdos was washed away last week, meaning the Somport pass is currently impassable. The same happened on A-138 North of Bielsa on the Spanish side, also cutting the Bielsa-Aragnouet tunnel. That leaves the Portalet pass as the only route into France for me. It's worse for trucks, since it isn't suitable for them either, forcing them to detour via Vielha or Irun.

[mgk920]

In Wisconsin, the major freeway interchanges in Milwaukee and elsewhere would certainly qualify as such choke points, but there are enough roadways and separation between them at each junction that a crash on one will not take out the entire intechages.  Out state, the I-41 Oshkosh Causeway (Big Lake Butte des Morts crossing) has historically had weather related crash closures.  Since Oshkosh city streets were unable to handle the detour traffic and there are no other usable alternate routings, a couple of decades ago WisDOT was seriously looking at an option of building a shore-to-shore bridge so that snow could harmlessly blow under the highway.  Blowing snow has not been a problem there since the highway's six lane rebuild in the very early 2010s.

Mike

[thenetwork]

Well, this morning in "scenic" Glenwood Canyon, a semi traveling westbound on I-70 went off the elevated westbound lanes landing on at least one vehicle heading eastbound on the lower lanes.

Glenwood Canyon will be closed all day with a 100 mile plus detour via Craig and Steamboat Springs adding about 3 hours to the drive between Denver and Grand Junction.

For those who have traveled the I-70 stretch thru the canyon, I believe the guardrails along the river and elevated sections are still the original thin rails above the short concrete walls.

Many sections of the thin single rail and supports are starting to rust out and erode.  This is likely one of the reasons why vehicles have jumped the westbound guardrails/walls and  crashed onto the lower eastbound roadway. 

Apparantly, there is no rush to upgrade/rebuild/fortify these substandard "protective" barriers.  Then you have crashes that continue toclose the canyon all day with long detours in both directions.

[webny99]

Well, this morning in "scenic" Glenwood Canyon, a semi traveling westbound on I-70 went off the elevated westbound lanes landing on at least one vehicle heading eastbound on the lower lanes.

Glenwood Canyon will be closed all day with a 100 mile plus detour via Craig and Steamboat Springs adding about 3 hours to the drive between Denver and Grand Junction.

Wow. Is taking CO 13 north to US 40 a viable option rather than heading south on CO 82 (which is bound to be congested)?

[JayhawkCO]

Well, this morning in "scenic" Glenwood Canyon, a semi traveling westbound on I-70 went off the elevated westbound lanes landing on at least one vehicle heading eastbound on the lower lanes.

Glenwood Canyon will be closed all day with a 100 mile plus detour via Craig and Steamboat Springs adding about 3 hours to the drive between Denver and Grand Junction.

For those who have traveled the I-70 stretch thru the canyon, I believe the guardrails along the river and elevated sections are still the original thin rails above the short concrete walls.

Many sections of the thin single rail and supports are starting to rust out and erode.  This is likely one of the reasons why vehicles have jumped the westbound guardrails/walls and  crashed onto the lower eastbound roadway. 

Apparantly, there is no rush to upgrade/rebuild/fortify these substandard "protective" barriers.  Then you have crashes that continue toclose the canyon all day with long detours in both directions.

One of my best friends who was driving home to Vegas chose to leave my house at 4 AM today, so happy he got through before the 3 hour detour.

[JayhawkCO]

Well, this morning in "scenic" Glenwood Canyon, a semi traveling westbound on I-70 went off the elevated westbound lanes landing on at least one vehicle heading eastbound on the lower lanes.

Glenwood Canyon will be closed all day with a 100 mile plus detour via Craig and Steamboat Springs adding about 3 hours to the drive between Denver and Grand Junction.

Wow. Is taking CO 13 north to US 40 a viable option rather than heading south on CO 82 (which is bound to be congested)?

That is the standard detour. Normally there's also taking US50, but since that's closed just west of Gunnison, that's out too.

Edit - The US50 is out for Trucks. They have to take CO149->Gunnison County 26

[thenetwork]

Highway 82 over independence pass is an alternative..if you are a short vehicle, ad anything over 35 feet is prohibited.

The US50 alternate route via Gunnison is also viable, but there's weight and length limited restrictions over the Blue Mesa bridge.  Not sure if the pilot car/alternating traffic is now 24/7 yet.

When all is said and done US 40 is the best route alternative, though Steamboat is a pain in the @$$ to drive through when the detour is in effect.

[webny99]

s taking CO 13 north to US 40 a viable option rather than heading south on CO 82 (which is bound to be congested)?

That is the standard detour. Normally there's also taking US50, but since that's closed just west of Gunnison, that's out too.

It looked like the worst congestion resulting from the closure was on I-70 exiting to CO 82 in Glenwood Springs and on CO 82 in the Aspen area, so I just kind of assumed that was the standard detour. I can see though why it's not an option for trucks.

[JayhawkCO]

s taking CO 13 north to US 40 a viable option rather than heading south on CO 82 (which is bound to be congested)?

That is the standard detour. Normally there's also taking US50, but since that's closed just west of Gunnison, that's out too.

It looked like the worst congestion resulting from the closure was on I-70 exiting to CO 82 in Glenwood Springs and on CO 82 in the Aspen area, so I just kind of assumed that was the standard detour. I can see though why it's not an option for trucks.

Well, it also depends on where you are when the canyon is closed. If you're past Silverthorne (coming from Denver), you're not likely to track back to take the northern route.

From Silverthorne to Rifle right now going CO9->US40->CO13, GMaps is showing 4h2m, and going over Independence Pass I-70->CO91->US24->CO82->I-70 is 3h45m. Normally, Silverthorne to Rifle is about 1h45m.

If trucks were even allowed over Independence Pass, for the four possible routings (including the US50 routing they can't take), I'd rank them as follows for "truck friendliness":

1) Eisenhower Tunnel (by far the easiest)
2) Muddy Pass/Rabbit Ears Pass (US40)
3) Monarch Pass (US50)
4) Independence Pass (CO82)

[Bitmapped]

For West Virginia, I-68 between Exits #10 (WV 43/Cheat Lake) and #15 (Coopers Rock) is probably the worst place for a road closure. I-68 was built on top of former WV 73 through here. There is a parallel county route, but trucks are banned and part of it is gravel on a steep slope that you often need something with high ground clearance to make it through.

For through traffic heading into Maryland, the best option is to take WV/PA 43 north to Uniontown, PA and then US 40 east to Keysers Ridge, MD. This adds about 14 miles and 30 minutes to the trip. The other alternative, staying in WV, is WV 7 to WV 26 via Kingwood which adds 25 miles and 40 minutes.

[davewiecking]

I don't know if it's necessarily the "worst," but an overturned tractor-trailer in a work zone on the Beltway this morning led to a fairly extraordinary situation:

https://x.com/VaDOTNOVA/status/1835664159301681459

It was a freaking box truck, not tractor trailer. I got tired of screaming at the Ch5 reporter she's an idiot. It did a fine job of blocking the 4 travel lanes.

[thenetwork]

s taking CO 13 north to US 40 a viable option rather than heading south on CO 82 (which is bound to be congested)?

That is the standard detour. Normally there's also taking US50, but since that's closed just west of Gunnison, that's out too.

It looked like the worst congestion resulting from the closure was on I-70 exiting to CO 82 in Glenwood Springs and on CO 82 in the Aspen area, so I just kind of assumed that was the standard detour. I can see though why it's not an option for trucks.

Well, it also depends on where you are when the canyon is closed. If you're past Silverthorne (coming from Denver), you're not likely to track back to take the northern route.

From Silverthorne to Rifle right now going CO9->US40->CO13, GMaps is showing 4h2m, and going over Independence Pass I-70->CO91->US24->CO82->I-70 is 3h45m. Normally, Silverthorne to Rifle is about 1h45m.

If trucks were even allowed over Independence Pass, for the four possible routings (including the US50 routing they can't take), I'd rank them as follows for "truck friendliness":

1) Eisenhower Tunnel (by far the easiest)
2) Muddy Pass/Rabbit Ears Pass (US40)
3) Monarch Pass (US50)
4) Independence Pass (CO82)

Co-82 over Independence Pass is a semi-decent detour "In Season" which is usually  between Memorial Day and the end of September. 82 is closed east of Aspen once the snow starts flying.

The problem with CO-82 as a detour is that when you get to the Aspen/Snowmass ski area, the 4-lane divided highway goes down to 2 lanes almost into downtown Aspen and is a regular choke point.  One on the main drag in Aspen, there are 2 lanes in each direction, but the traffic lights are purposely mis-timed to keep the traffic speeds low.  After a few zig-zags thru Aspen, there are at least two single lane areas east of town then several tight hairpins either side of Indy Pass. 

At least the northern detour is, for the most part, long stretches of 55+ MPH zones.  You CAN bypass Steamboat Springs altogether by taking CR-27 aka the 20-something mile cutoff road between Hayden and Oak Creek.  Once in Oak Creek, take CO-131 back to I-70 at Wolcott.  131 is a slow, curvy road, but usually not as busy as US-40/CO-9 to Silverthorne.

[Rothman]

Well, this morning in "scenic" Glenwood Canyon, a semi traveling westbound on I-70 went off the elevated westbound lanes landing on at least one vehicle heading eastbound on the lower lanes.

Glenwood Canyon will be closed all day with a 100 mile plus detour via Craig and Steamboat Springs adding about 3 hours to the drive between Denver and Grand Junction.

For those who have traveled the I-70 stretch thru the canyon, I believe the guardrails along the river and elevated sections are still the original thin rails above the short concrete walls.

Many sections of the thin single rail and supports are starting to rust out and erode.  This is likely one of the reasons why vehicles have jumped the westbound guardrails/walls and  crashed onto the lower eastbound roadway. 

Apparantly, there is no rush to upgrade/rebuild/fortify these substandard "protective" barriers.  Then you have crashes that continue toclose the canyon all day with long detours in both directions.

Hm.  I was next to a semi on the Thruway today east of Waterloo somewhere that almost went off the road.  Driver was totally inattentive and on his phone.

And earlier, a semi tailgated me through a work zone on I-81.  As we passed the reassurance 45 mph work zone speed limit signs, I pointed at the signs and he backed off.

What an amazing time of lousy semi drivers we live in.

[webny99]

If trucks were even allowed over Independence Pass, for the four possible routings (including the US50 routing they can't take), I'd rank them as follows for "truck friendliness":

1) Eisenhower Tunnel (by far the easiest)
2) Muddy Pass/Rabbit Ears Pass (US40)
3) Monarch Pass (US50)
4) Independence Pass (CO82)

With the current closure being further west though, wouldn't it still be possible to use the Eisenhower tunnel and CO 9 or CO 131 to avoid the other three passes altogether?

[webny99]

Co-82 over Independence Pass is a semi-decent detour "In Season" which is usually  between Memorial Day and the end of September. 82 is closed east of Aspen once the snow starts flying.

The problem with CO-82 as a detour is that when you get to the Aspen/Snowmass ski area, the 4-lane divided highway goes down to 2 lanes almost into downtown Aspen and is a regular choke point.  One on the main drag in Aspen, there are 2 lanes in each direction, but the traffic lights are purposely mis-timed to keep the traffic speeds low.  After a few zig-zags thru Aspen, there are at least two single lane areas east of town then several tight hairpins either side of Indy Pass.

I am actually impressed at how much of CO 82 is four lanes west of Aspen. However it makes more sense when you consider that there are no other routes into Aspen for much of the year, including throughout ski season.

It's also surprisingly not that much longer time-wise from Denver to go through Glenwood Springs even when Independence Pass is open, and despite being much longer distance it's probably a much easier drive.

At least the northern detour is, for the most part, long stretches of 55+ MPH zones.  You CAN bypass Steamboat Springs altogether by taking CR-27 aka the 20-something mile cutoff road between Hayden and Oak Creek.  Once in Oak Creek, take CO-131 back to I-70 at Wolcott.  131 is a slow, curvy road, but usually not as busy as US-40/CO-9 to Silverthorne.

Is this route suitable for trucks or are they better off sticking to 40?
And would CO 134 be an option, e.g. if there was an I-70 closure east of Wolcott?

[1995hoo]

It was a freaking box truck, not tractor trailer. I got tired of screaming at the Ch5 reporter she's an idiot. It did a fine job of blocking the 4 travel lanes.

I was just going by what I heard on the radio. The image in that tweet was grainy enough that I had no reason to dispute that they said. Bad situation regardless of the type of vehicle.

[JayhawkCO]

If trucks were even allowed over Independence Pass, for the four possible routings (including the US50 routing they can't take), I'd rank them as follows for "truck friendliness":

1) Eisenhower Tunnel (by far the easiest)
2) Muddy Pass/Rabbit Ears Pass (US40)
3) Monarch Pass (US50)
4) Independence Pass (CO82)

With the current closure being further west though, wouldn't it still be possible to use the Eisenhower tunnel and CO 9 or CO 131 to avoid the other three passes altogether?

For CO9, you'd still travel over Muddy/Rabbit Ears Pass.

CO131 is a slow, windy road as noted up thread and it's more mileage.

[JayhawkCO]

And now there's a rockslide shutting down US40 between Craig and Steamboat Springs making that route impassable, too.

[chrisg69911]

Inbound Lincoln tunnel. A few days ago the center tube was closed due to a motorcycle crash investigation and then one lane in the south tube was also blocked due to a bus crash. This led to the XBL and 3 general traffic lanes all going into one lane. Traffic was backed up onto the turnpike and back to East Rutherford on route 3. Buses started dropping off at Newark Penn and Secaucus just to get people into the city.

[thenetwork]

If trucks were even allowed over Independence Pass, for the four possible routings (including the US50 routing they can't take), I'd rank them as follows for "truck friendliness":

1) Eisenhower Tunnel (by far the easiest)
2) Muddy Pass/Rabbit Ears Pass (US40)
3) Monarch Pass (US50)
4) Independence Pass (CO82)

With the current closure being further west though, wouldn't it still be possible to use the Eisenhower tunnel and CO 9 or CO 131 to avoid the other three passes altogether?

If you use CO-131, you skip Rabbit Ears Pass, but you gain Vail Pass which can also be notoriously brutal during inclement weather.

I am actually impressed at how much of CO 82 is four lanes west of Aspen. However it makes more sense when you consider that there are no other routes into Aspen for much of the year, including throughout ski season.
   

Pretty much rhe majority of people who work in Aspen cannot afford to LIVE in Aspen.  So most commute to/from Glenwood. Pretty much the unofficial rule is whatever city you work out of in the Roaring Fork Valley and Garfield County, you can only afford to live in an area 3-4 towns west along 82 or 70.

RFTA is the largest rural bus system connecting Aspen to as far away as Rifle.  They also are used by a lot of commuters to/From Aspen. 

[Rothman]

And now there's a rockslide shutting down US40 between Craig and Steamboat Springs making that route impassable, too.

Geologists like the rocks.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

And now there's a rockslide shutting down US40 between Craig and Steamboat Springs making that route impassable, too.

Wow. This reminds me of when a short section of then-N-330 (now the Southbound lanes of A-23) near the top of Monrepos Pass  was washed away. At one point during that closure a rockslide also closed off the nearest alternate route (A-132 to the West) for some hours, meaning quite a detour if one wanted to go from Huesca and points South to Sabiñanigo, Jaca and points North (East to A-138 or West to A-127).