CDOT looking hard at Glenwood Canyon

Colorado has had their share of nonsense from trucks the last few yrs..I’m sure their fed up with it

 

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...

 

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.

 

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.

 

Why couldn’t they just put in a timing system like the bridge in LA?

 

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.