Colorado DOT warns that I-70 runway truck ramp is closed through summer 2024

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has closed an I-70 runway truck ramp until mid-2024 for construction.

Officials say that the runaway ramp located along eastbound I-70 at mile marker 257 just east of Genesee, Colorado, is closed now through late May or early June 2024 as part of a $15 million upgrade project.

“Since the ramp must be closed during construction, the project will take place over the winter season when hot brakes are the lowest and truckers’ speeds are reduced,” CDOT said.

Until the ramp reopens next year,  there will be no escape ramp for trucks traveling down eastbound I-70 from the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel to the Denver metro region.

Because there is no ramp in the area, CDOT is taking the following measures to prevent runway trucks:

• CDOT will take additional safety measures during the ramp’s closure for construction, including adding more signage and notifying truckers of the existing brake cooling areas.
• The speed limit for heavy freight vehicles will be reduced from 45 to 40 miles per hour from exits 253 to 258.
• There will be an 11-foot width restriction on eastbound I-70 in the construction zone. 

CDOT says that there will be significant improvements to the ramp when construction is complete.

Planned upgrades include:

• A more robust and visible escape ramp
• Improved advanced signage of the escape ramp ahead
• Increased sight distance, which will give truckers more time to see the entrance and line up their vehicle to enter the escape ramp
• Larger barriers between the ramp’s edge and the adjacent steep embankment, giving truckers additional confidence to enter the ramp
• A pavement detection system that will trigger flashing lights on signs to notify speeding truckers to use the escape ramp
• A better ramp design allowing for late entry should truckers miss the escape ramp entrance