Colorado DOT warns of ‘record breaking traffic’ along I-70 Mountain Corridor this weekend

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is asking drivers to plan for delays if they are traveling through the I-70 Mountain Corridor this coming weekend.

In a January 2 news release, CDOT said that there is a “high chance” of historically high traffic on the I-70 Mountain Corridor this weekend because of holiday traffic combining with predicted snow, which will draw in ski traffic.

CDOT shared record-breaking vehicle traffic counts from New Year’s weekend in 2020, which is similar to this year due to New Year’s Day falling on a Wednesday and a significant amount of snow fall predicted:

• Friday, January 3, 2020 – The fifth highest combined 24-hour traffic count for both eastbound and westbound traffic with 55,224 vehicles passing through the tunnels
• Friday, January 3, 2020 – Highest combined eastbound and westbound hourly count through the tunnels with 6,259 vehicles traveling through at 6 p.m.
• Friday January 3, 2020 – Highest eastbound hourly count with 4,076 vehicles traveling through the tunnel at 6 p.m.
• Saturday, January 4, 2020 – Second highest combined eastbound and westbound hourly count through the tunnels with 5,850 vehicles driving through at 4 p.m.
• Saturday, January 4, 2020 – Third highest eastbound hourly count with 3,762 through tunnel at 4 p.m.
• Friday, January 3, through Sunday, January 5, 2020 – Fifth highest non-holiday winter weekend (Friday through Sunday) with 154,541 vehicles traveling through the tunnels. For comparison, in January 2023 an average daily total of 36,373 vehicles passed through the tunnels for the entire month.

“While traffic counts could vary this weekend compared to 2020, there is a high chance that traffic counts and volume will be similar or may exceed the records set four years ago. Motorists should be prepared for extended delays and map out their travel strategy beforehand if they need to be somewhere at a specific time,” said CDOT.

Get the latest travel information from CDOT by visiting COtrip.org.