Nebraska to Vegas Heavy: I-70 or I-80

Welcome to Loveland.

When you do manage to cross the apparent divide spine, you will learn that the escape ramp is not for another 6 miles down he he he. Someone has been busy on this pass these last 10 years making incremental improvements.

 

Provo Canyon is closed for oversize loads, but you can go there with a 53 without problems, do it all the time, no restrictions for trucks.

 

ummmmm.... a 53' trailer is oversize in Utah (off the designated routes.)

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And here is the "unless otherwise posted." for Provo Canyon.

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http://digitallibrary.utah.gov/awweb/awarchive?type=file&item=12668


I haven't pulled a 53' in 15+ years, but when they first put that restriction is place, they really enforced it! Seemed there was always a trooper hanging out between Heber and the dam watching for 53's.

 

They must not enforce it anymore. I've been through there many times with a 265"wb KW and a 53' trailer. IDK if it's slower than going over the hill on 80 but I much prefer Provo Cyn.

With all the work they've done there really isn't a reason anymore to restrict it. Other than just keeping trucks out of Heber and Provo.

 

So essentially what I've learned reading this, IMHO, 80 is for steering wheel holders, 70 is for truck drivers not afraid of a challenge.

 

Actually, when you enter Salt Lake City from parleys canyon, (I-80) you will only have 45 miles of dense population until you reach Provo. Rush hour traffic really only had long delays between 4:30 pm until 6:30 pm. With that being said, I usually can get from SLC to Provo in about an hour and fifteen minutes during heavy traffic.
I drive through the SL valley almost daily during rush hour.

 

I too haul a 53' through Provo canyon without any problems. I haul a mobile MRI to the hospital in Heber, and I've been doing it for years.

 

And in winter months, there will actually be more than a few times it will be better and faster to run via Vail, just depending on the forecasted storm dynamics and timing. But you have to do your homework to make the executive decision at the appropriate time.

Those Wyoming road closures happen too frequently and for too long to chance it sometimes

 

But then again, a steering wheel holder may simply follow whatever the company issued GPS tells them to go. That would mean running I-70 without a thought in the world about time or fuel savings, maybe without even consulting a weather forecast. I-70 would be the default route because it has fewer miles, and computer generated fuel routes and trip plans always choose fewer miles without regard to anything else.

I have run both routes plenty of times when I drove for Swift. I LIKE I-70 at any time if year. I-80 is faster with the Nebraska to Las Vegas run.

Remember that heinous multi truck pileup that closed I-80 just west of Laramie a couple of springs ago? Snow, ice, freezing fog, and some jackwagon that definitely wasn't a mega driver started the whole thing. That morning I picked up a load in Denver, bound for the Swift terminal in Reno. The route that would have been best in normal conditions would be to run north on I-25, take US-287 from Fort Collins to Laramie, then boogie West on I-80 to Reno. But that morning as I was sitting in the dock I read about the accident on TTR.

I checked out the Wyoming road conditions and sure enough, I-80 was closed. TTR members noted that parking in Laramie was overflow basis and no telling when I-80 would open again. I called my driver manager and gave him a heads up. I ran west on I-70, then worked my way up to Provo on US-191 and US-6 and on up to I-80. I made my delivery on time, but would have been late if I simply held the steering wheel and ended up parked for a day in Laramie.

I guess the moral of this post is always trip plan based on weather, road conditions, safety, and most efficient route for your current situation. Sometimes it means taking a more challenging route, maybe on unfamiliar roads. You are selling your 70. Be safe and efficient.

 

Never had problems and a lot of troopers passed me or were watching traffic. Lots of 53's there all the time and never saw one pulled out. But good to know, thank you!

Went over 70 today from Denver to Nevada with 75000 gross, 670 miles, 10:52 drive time. Over 80 and Provo Canyon I make 700+ miles in the same time.