Colorado Moves to Limit Trucks in I-70's Lefthand Lanes

If you've ever driven Interstate 70 through Colorado's ski country, you know how scary it can be. Especially in winter.

Snow, ice, speeding cars, huge trucks, and some very serpentine lanes passing through narrow canyons and rugged valleys all add up to a white-knuckle fest for any traveller.

While the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has been working on dozens of fixes to various sections of the physical roadway in recent years, yesterday the Colorado House of Representatives passed their version of a new law that would severely restrict the activities of trucks on I-70.

In two-lane sections of the interstate, the bill ( Senate Bill 100, aka the "Commercial Vehicle Highway Safety Measures" bill) would ban trucks from using the lefthand lane to pass other vehicles in the following areas:

• Glenwood Canyon
• Dowd Junction
• Vail Pass
• Eisenhower Tunnel
• Georgetown Hill
• Floyd Hill

Where three lanes exist (in those sections of road), trucks would be allowed to pass other vehicles. (Authors' note: I'm reposting this after realizing the only place in those areas where there are three lanes is Floyd Hill. I drive this highway at least 50 times a year.)

​​Additionally, under the new law, Glenwood Canyon would be designated a “heightened speed limit enforcement zone.”

That means primarily one thing: double the cost for speeding tickets in the canyon.

Additionally, truckers would be required to carry chains on I-70 west of Morrison as well as the following high country roads "for any commercial vehicle with a declared gross vehicle weight rating of 16,001 pounds or more" between Sept. 1 and May 31:

• Colorado 9 from milepost 63 to milepost 97 (Frisco to Fairplay);

• U.S. Route 40 west of milepost 256 (Empire);

• U.S. Route 50 west of milepost 225 (Salida);

• U.S. Route 160 west of milepost 304 (Walsenburg);

• U.S. Route 285 west of milepost 250 (Morrison); and

• U.S. Route 550 from milepost 0 to 130.

The bill also has a provision that calls on CDOT to look at the possibility of closing the interstate to large trucks if conditions deem it necessary.

The bill will go back to the Senate, where it originated, and then on to Governor Jared Polis. The legislative session closes May 8.

Interestingly, all four sponsors of the bill live in places west of the truly messy parts of I-70 (Floyd Hill, the tunnels area, Summit County, and Glenwood Canyon).

They and other proponents of the bill cite the economic and safety impacts of crashes and a closed interstate as concerns for their communities.

The four sponsors are: Rep. Elizabeth Velasco (D-Glenwood Springs), Sen. Dylan Roberts (D-Frisco), Sen. Perry Will, (R-New Castle), and Rep. Rick Taggart (R-Grand Junction).

See you out there this summer, and please drive carefully!