August 25, 2008
PAVING EAST OF TUNNEL TODAY/TOMORROW
CLEAR CREEK COUNTY – The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is closing one lane of westbound Interstate 70, east of the Eisenhower Tunnel, today and tomorrow.
Traffic is reduced to a single lane from mile 217.5 west to the Eisenhower Tunnel (2 ½ miles) today (Monday, August 25), and tomorrow Tuesday, August 26, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Drivers should expect delays. However, CDOT will monitor traffic and adjust and/or remove lane closures if long backups develop.
Three signs are being displayed entering this work zone. The first two signs instruct drivers to USE BOTH LANES DURING CONGESTION and USE BOTH LANES TO MERGE POINT. “In some back-up situations, we’ve seen drivers merge too early, probably in fear that other drivers won’t let them into the lane down the road,” says CDOT Resident Engineer Dave Wieder. “We appreciate motorists wanting to change lanes early so they can avoid unsafe merging but when the highway’s congested, drivers should use both lanes all the way up to the designated merge point.”
CDOT then wants drivers to heed the third sign - TAKE TURNS MERGE HERE - upon reaching the lane closure. The strategy, often referred to as the “zipper” approach, has proven effective in congested work zones by improving traffic flow and reducing delays as drivers alternate merging into the open lane. Drivers are advised to still merge early when driving through work zones with non-congested conditions.
Various single lane closures also are in place through Thursday on westbound I-70, west of the Tunnel, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., for guardrail and overhead sign work.