I-70 at Gypsum now open both directions, travel woes continue
UPDATE 5:10 p.m. — Interstate 70 is now open in both directions between Dotsero and Gypsum following cleanup from a wrecked fuel tanker earlier today. Meanwhile, Colorado 133 over McClure Pass from Marble to the Collbran cut-off, and Colorado 65 on Grand Mesa are both closed for avalanche danger. Avalanche mitigation will commence at daybreak. Powderhorn ski area is still acessible.
CDOT has also lifted the traction law from Gypsum to the Utah state line.
For updates on road closures and travel conditions, visit http://www.COTRIP.org
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UPDATE 2:45 p.m. – I-70 westbound is now open between Gypsum and Dotsero, according to CDOT. However, eastbound through that stretch remains closed and traffic is being detoured onto U.S. 6. No estimate for when the eastbound lanes will reopen.
About the same time, CDOT reported that eastbound I-70 on Vail Pass at mile marker 184 was closed due to multiple crashes. No estimate for reopening.
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UPDATE 10:30 a.m. — Colorado 13 north of Rifle is now open, as CDOT reports road conditions have improved. An accident on I-70 west of Rifle has also been cleared, and traffic is flowing. Keep up with the latest road closures and travel alerts at cotrip.org
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An overturned fuel tanker has Interstate 70 two miles west of Gypsum closed in both directions for what’s expected to be an extended period of time.
The Colorado Department of Transportation said I-70 traffic is being diverted to U.S. 6 between Dotsero and Gypsum.
Hazmat and local law enforcement are on scene working to clean up a fuel spill that resulted. A box truck carrying empty beer cans was also involved in the accident. No injuries were reported.
In addition, I-70 west of Rifle was closed at around 9 a.m. due to another accident. And, Colorado 13 north of Rifle was closed earlier in the morning due to the adverse weather conditions.
In Mesa County, the National Weather Service issued an ice storm warning until noon and District 51 schools were released for the day.
The Monday closures come on the heels of a series of I-70 closures Sunday during snowy weather, which triggered multiple accidents throughout the mountains, including another two-hour closure in Glenwood Canyon.
Multiple crashes were reported on eastbound I-70 at Vail, Frisco and Silverthorne Sunday afternoon and evening. Vail Pass was reopened at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday after a three-hour-long closure.
Earlier in the day, CDOT’s Hanging Lake Tunnel crew cleared a semi-trailer car carrier that had jack-knifed on eastbound I-70 in Glenwood Canyon east of No Name near the spot where an 18-car pileup occurred on Friday. Interstate traffic was halted at Exit 116 in Glenwood Springs for nearly two hours during the Sunday closure.
The Sunday incident occurred about 1:37 p.m. when the car carrier jack-knifed and at least two other vehicles crashed, and numerous other cars were caught up behind the initial wreck, according to CDOT. Westbound traffic was not impacted.
There were no injuries, according to Colorado State Patrol spokesman Tim Sutherland.
It was snowing steadily in the Glenwood Springs area and in the central Rocky Mountains all day Sunday. The Glenwood Springs-area forecast called for warmer temperatures and rain Monday turning to snow later in the day. Heavy snow was expected in the high country including up to two feet of snow during the day and Monday night at Sunlight Peak, according to the National Weather Service.
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