CDOT looking hard at Glenwood Canyon

Discussion in 'Trucking Accidents' started by Hammer166, Feb 5, 2023.

  1. Hammer166

    Hammer166 Crusty Information Officer

    6,920
    23,775
    Aug 18, 2007
    ~8600+' and loving it!
    0
    https://www.vaildaily.com/news/cdot...canyon-after-spate-of-wrecks-involving-semis/

    Who knows what they will decide to do, but with a third of all closures involving trucks, it's a fair bet they'll find a way to step up enforcement and/or drop speeds further.

    They'd pretty much have to use spotters to relay info on who to stop to troopers stationed just outside the canyon, there just isn't room in most of the canyon to safely make traffic stops.

    And there's no real solution keeping the trucks that don't belong up there from using that route. Way too many inexperienced fools up there nowadays, and they're definitely over-represented in the crashed-n-burned category.
     
    Oxbow, bzinger, Concorde and 6 others Thank this.
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. drvrtech77

    drvrtech77 Road Train Member

    12,873
    115,196
    Mar 20, 2010
    0
    Colorado has had their share of nonsense from trucks the last few yrs..I’m sure their fed up with it
     
    bzinger, mjd4277 and 201 Thank this.
  4. The Railsplitter

    The Railsplitter Medium Load Member

    321
    915
    Jan 23, 2023
    "BFE... and lovin' it!"
    0
    Glenwood Canyon can be a challenging stretch of road to drive... lots of curves, sudden on-ramps & off-ramps, little time to react when ya round a curve and roll up on some wreck or other obstacle. To top it off, the scenery is great, so many drivers (4-wheelers & truckers) are rubbernecking when they should be more focused upon the road. Factor in bad weather and the danger increases... :confused:
     
    EuropeanTrucker, bzinger and ducnut Thank this.
  5. Hammer166

    Hammer166 Crusty Information Officer

    6,920
    23,775
    Aug 18, 2007
    ~8600+' and loving it!
    0
    And I swear, the worse the weather, the faster FedEx goes, thru there!
     
    bzinger, InTooDeep and Mnmover99 Thank this.
  6. The Railsplitter

    The Railsplitter Medium Load Member

    321
    915
    Jan 23, 2023
    "BFE... and lovin' it!"
    0
    I used to run that stretch twice a week, hauling IBP loads to the Left Coast and backhauling produce from the Southwest to our yard in IA... in many places along I-70 through Glenwood Canyon, there are no shoulders, or the shoulders are so skinny that they offer no safety. Then there are the tunnels, curves, and scenery... all that can stack up on driver and cause him to lose focus. Even though that corridor felt kinda tight, I always liked it because I was a technical rock climber & mountaineer... those walls are impressive, that's for sure, though better quality rock can be found elsewhere in Colorado. :rolleyes:
     
    Hammer166 and ducnut Thank this.
  7. Mnmover99

    Mnmover99 Light Load Member

    217
    307
    Oct 22, 2022
    0
    It is almost to the point where the traffic should come to a complete stop before entering the canyon and be permitted to enter at a rate of 1 vehicle every 30 seconds, and required to stay in line until the end. Metered traffic could reduce the problems.
     
    Hammer166 Thanks this.
  8. Long FLD

    Long FLD Road Train Member

    9,502
    36,966
    Mar 4, 2015
    0
    Why couldn’t they just put in a timing system like the bridge in LA?
     
    Hammer166 Thanks this.
  9. Hammer166

    Hammer166 Crusty Information Officer

    6,920
    23,775
    Aug 18, 2007
    ~8600+' and loving it!
    0
    This is Calirado. Lots of money gets spent on bike paths and toll roads, not much gets done with the highways.

    And that only needs about half a sarcasm tag.
     
    InTooDeep, ducnut, drvrtech77 and 2 others Thank this.
  10. 201

    201 Road Train Member

    11,168
    22,654
    Apr 16, 2014
    high plains colorado
    0
    I've lived here 5 years, I can say without reservation, Colomarado has the the worst roads, planned by 3rd graders. It's not just the canyon, Hy.50, who puts a truck runaway ramp after a 35 mph curve? Hy. 285, a well thought out 3 lane, Big Horn Sheep Canyon,,,that's the best they could do? and I've never even been north of I-70, nor care to. Independence Pass, there's a nice one, no trucks but one lane with a 500 ft. dropoff and no guard rail. The state posted a massive surplus of $9 BILLION,, you know where a lot of THAT came from. The state sorely needs an E-W interstate below I-70 to take the pressure off going through Denver. The only thing I can figure, is there is so much money here, the people don't have to use the roads. The people of Poncha Springs cried and whined when a needed Loves Travel Center was planned. Jury still out on that one. Don't forget the CPW, now charging residents to use a bike path. Naturally, the path is vacant now, so they can afford rescue units for these idiots that fall in the river. There seems to be a huge imbalance in fund dispersal( we have 10 new cop cars, btw, just in case, you know) and who is making the decisions is what I question. Big pow wow on how to spend it, and not much about roads. From what I see, Colorado has too many people, from all over, each thinking they can make a difference, and they all butt heads.
    There is an up side, however, Colorado has a lot of programs for retired, WAY more than Wisconsin ever had. That Glenwood Canyon , I read, was kind of an engineering marvel, for 1956 and I feel they had no business running an interstate through it.
     
    ducnut Thanks this.
  11. Hammer166

    Hammer166 Crusty Information Officer

    6,920
    23,775
    Aug 18, 2007
    ~8600+' and loving it!
    0
    That stretch of the interstate wasn't finished until sometime in the late 80's. I first went thru there in 85 or 86 and we still ran the old hwy for most of the canyon.

    But yeah, I-270 has been a parking lot for most of the day for 40 years, and it's still just a 4 lane.
     
    201 Thanks this.
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.