The I-70 mountain express lanes are like Stevia for the interstate – almost the real thing, but not quite.
The Federal Highway Administration limits how often the express lanes are open: no more than 100 days a year (or 1,168 hours) eastbound, no more than 125 days a year (or 965 hours) westbound.
The rest of the year these mountain toll lanes are technically an emergency shoulder for 12 miles between Idaho Springs and the Empire exit.
And like Stevia, drivers are craving more. CDOT wants to know if I-70 stakeholders want additional express lane days. Data suggests the lanes work, but only slightly. In 2019 the average driver saved five minutes.
Officials in Summit County almost unanimously support more days. But when express lanes are open, the muck runs downhill into Clear Creek County.
“Their first responder community will tell you it’s a very big issue,” Summit County commissioner Tamara Pogue says. “Those lanes were not designed safely to be open full time, and so there was a very closely negotiated agreement between the Federal Highway Administration and CDOT as to how much they can be open to manage some of those safety risks.”
Last year, adding express lane days even got Gov. Jared Polis in trouble.
“They weren’t going to open the lanes on Thanksgiving weekend and the Governor did a proclamation to say they had to,” Pogue says. “Everyone was all kinds of upset because he circumvented the process by which they decide. This has been a major issue for a couple of years now.”
CDOT is taking feedback now. Summit has not officially weighed in. Neither has the I-70 coalition.