$700 million upgrade hopes to fix one I-70 mountain bottleneck

Long known as a place where car trips get unbearable, one of the biggest bottlenecks along the Interstate 70 route in and out of the mountains is getting a two-thirds of a billion-dollar upgrade to a pinch point both east and westbound.

[@osvaldo554]

Better put heaters on the roads. Bridges freeze before roads. And that looks like one long bridge .

[@Neely26tv]

They say it'll take 5 years but end up taking 50

[@joemac1290]

I seriously DOUBT that they will complete this project. They would have to shut down half the I-70 corridor in order to start the construction. It would cause traffic bottlenecks from Idaho Springs all the way to West Arvada, and from Idaho Springs all the way to Silverthorn.

[@aylahughes9185]

lol then they will def do it. think about the world we live in rn. no one is passing up any opportunity to make the common man hopelessly inconvenienced.

[@Squince01]

Dude this is going to be a mess! I guess I'll be staying off the 70 for the next TEN YEARS!

[@neoanderson7492]

Well they are working on so looks like you were wrong

[@RIXRADvidz]

And NO RAIL LINE all the car access you need, but no Mass Transit Options. a Bus Only lane would be nice, a Heavy Truck Lane would be nice. A Modern Rail Line Service to at least Frisco. such horrible short sightedness.

[@joemac1290]

The Ski slopes Owners dont want mass transit. It would bring homeless people to their backyard.

[@Project2457official]

@@joemac1290 thank you for proving the original commenters point by reinforcing the ignorant american belief that "public transit is for homeless people"

[@joemac1290]

@@Project2457official Walk to Union Station in Denver and get on ANY bus or rail. You will then understand. The Ski slopes DO NOT WANT homeless people moving from Denver to the tourist Ski areas. The Ski industry is a BILLION DOLLAR industry.

[@Neely26tv]

They don't think like that they would rather spend a million dollars on a $300 ft tall cross then to actually spend the money on something that really serves a general-purpose for everyone

[@kevindahlberg7753]

​@@joemac1290 The ski industry can not exist with out snow, a simple ban on combustion vehicles in favor of alternative energy solves the problem and saves the planet

[@lesliegibbons6917]

Are the slopes paying for it? Probably not. What a waste of money. And here in eastern Colorado pot holes and roads so rough like driving on dirt. But polis and cdot don't give a damn. How much of the 700 mil goes to polis or his friends and relation?

[@rudolf6547]

Good point. Let Vail Resorts pay for it, they create the traffic.

[@rickj1983]

@@rudolf6547 Seriously? Vail? Not all of it. You have Loveland, A Basin, Keystone, Breck, and Copper all just past it. Vail is still at quite a drive west.

[@juliebofco9347]

@@rickj1983 Correct! Not to mention all the people driving to the Western Slope. So many semis, too. They slow up the traffic, and add to the wear and tear.

[@juliebofco9347]

@@rudolf6547 How much revenue do you think visitors to the ski areas bring to the state, besides the ski areas? Hotels, restaurants, retail, etc. When they were shut down during COVID it really hurt the economy.

[@user-sk5cv7hj2m]

I live in Colorado and I could care less. I don’t think I should have to pay for that. Get the money from the ski resorts, weed and added cigarette tax. I’m tired of taking it in the ass because somebody wants a small stretch of road. Plus cdot never repairs all the roads that are already falling apart. CDOT is a dumpster fire!

[@Squince01]

I couldn't AGREE MORE!!

[@gosnooky]

From experience, CDOT is not that bad compared to other state DOT's. I'm looking at you Caltrans.

[@lithium25693]

why live on Colorado if you don't ski minus well move to Kansas

[@PiersAnthony-hq7tj]

For 700 million you'd think they could drill through the mountain

[@Neely26tv]

Or at least use nuclear bombs to blow the mountains out of the way all together

[@Squince01]

This project will come in overbudget @ aprox $1.2B, Just wait.

[@idriveastationwagon1534]

Looks like something out of a need for speed map.

[@Project2457official]

Yeah no lets just add one more lane bro that will fix everything Actually lets add 3 or 5 new lanes bro. Trust me on this it will fix the bottleneck for at least a few months maybe a few years and then we'll have to squeeze the tax payers dry again after those couple of a few years for yet another decade delayed and overbudgeted highway project.

[@povertyspec9651]

Highways are the lifeblood of the economy. Not a single loaf of bread gets to your local grocery store by rail. 75% of cargo is transported by highway. Deal with it.

[@cxsey8587]

@@povertyspec9651because we refuse to invest in rail infrastructure. It’s literally only like that bc we treat rail like the plague and sold almost all of our rail lines to private companies.

[@bongjovi4928]

​@cxsey8587 this is not germany

[@narule2695]

Hell ya more Taxes

[@neosho53059]

Leave east bound alone! Just add a extra lane west bound and merge at the bottom of the hill and make the bridge safer

[@af556]

DOUBLE DECKER ALL CONGESTED HIGHWAYS

[@ScantPear]

That bridge seems fine to me… when I drive on it I pass over it just fine…

[@bmay282]

Who gets all the money? What are labor costs vs materials? Are workers going to be paid well? Are we taking a loan against our taxes for this? How much profit was allowed? Where does the profit go, is it kept in the community or does it go to outside companies? Not enough info in this report.

[@PiersAnthony-hq7tj]

That Man is asking too many questions.. PUT HIM UP AGAINST A WALL

[@rickj1983]

I'm sure much of it is federal money. The state can't afford a project like this on their own.

[@joemac1290]

I seriously DOUBT that they will complete this project. They would have to shut down half the I-70 corridor in order to start the construction. It would cause traffic bottlenecks from Idaho Springs all the way to West Arvada, and from Idaho Springs all the way to Silverthorn.

[@bmay282]

Yes, it's the "Build Back Better" program coming to our great state... But remember what happened to the PPP money? Most of the money was stolen by the businesses when it was supposed to go to the people...and almost no one has been accountable for that. If they steal this money too, what other shot are we going to have to rebuild our infrastructure??? We have to keep an eye on this.. so many of our cities have toxic levels of lead in the water, can any of the money go to fix that so we can all have drinkable H2O????

[@spikedpsycho2383]

Doubt. Induced capacity nevervtrust a new road will solve congestion

[@gosnooky]

Induced demand is for sure a thing. Look at these 20-lane freeways they're building in Texas... those roads are just as congested, if not more so than the 4-lane roads they replaced.

[@povertyspec9651]

If that was true, every road would be 100% congested 24/7/365.

[@cxsey8587]

@@povertyspec9651not how it works, i recommend researching before spewing nonsense

[@higgsboson3356]

Take notes from Spain on how to design Interstates with dedicated lanes.

[@rndyh77]

So, the westbound lanes will be pushed onto a north facing slope? That will constantly be iced up in the winter. And how are those expansion joints going to hold up and how are they going to prevent that viaduct from freezing up in the winter?

[@stevewillis1916]

NOOOOOOOO NOOOOOOOOOO. Oh god

[@DeanZimmerman-rt6gh]

😎

[@user-vo7mc4fs3t]

. Insurrectible

[@johnmcquaide9896]

“It’s scary so I drive 40” You’re part of the problem lady. Stay off the road.

[@Aikynbreusov]

5 year project????? 5 years for that small repair of tbe I-70????? Just hire the chinese to do it...... !!!!!!

[@waltercunningham4892]

yall will do anything but build a train

[@kevindahlberg7753]

Colorado should be preserving nature and combating climate change, clean public transportation that runs on alternative green energy and a ban on combustion vehicles will solve this and save the planet.

[@trappking8626]

Waste of taxpayers money

[@anthonysears871]

Just another waste. Easy solution! Ration fuel! Ratiin travel! Live in front range? Made your beds!

[@AlexZ-lc6nl]

Having lived in this state now for some time and having seen the wonderful and competent job they do here in Colorado with Infrastructure, im sure this project will be nothing less than a 20 year built of expensively mediocre road extensions that will fail in some way or another within months of completions and will look as if they were 100 years old by 5 years after completion. 😂. Colorful Colorado 🫠🫠🫠