Colorado Department of Transportation highway engineers will review whether additional speed limits are needed for safety reasons at a construction zone on Interstate 70 west of Denver, a day after a fatal crash involving a pipeline truck killed three people and hospitalized three others.
Wheat Ridge police investigators were working Friday with images from a drone deployed over the crash scene on I-70 near Ward Road. The rollover caused pipes to be scattered for half a mile along a stretch of I-70. Newlywed honeymooners Ruben Rodriguez and Juliana Rodriguez Plata and their mother Luz Melba Martinez were killed when pipes struck their car. The couple’s 1-year-old baby, the bride’s father and the driver of the semi were injured.
“The speed limit has been reduced from 65 to 60 in this area and our construction team is evaluating whether any additional changes are needed for this work zone beyond our standard protocols,” CDOT spokesman Matt Inzeo said Friday. “We are also awaiting details from the accident investigation to better understand any factors that played a role yesterday morning.”
CDOT conducts site configuration reviews under the direction of traffic engineers after accidents are reported in highway construction zones, Inzeo said. “We do not yet have the results of the accident investigation. We are generally concerned about speeding on this section of I-70.”
The accident happened at 8:20 a.m. Thursday on the eastbound stretch of I-70 near Ward Road, where workers are replacing a bridge. The $16.4 million construction project has been underway since February and is scheduled to be completed in October.
Wheat Ridge police frequently respond to accidents along I-70, said agency spokesman Alex Rose. “We understand that I-70 is a major corridor that runs through our jurisdiction. … We don’t dictate speeds, we don’t dictate (work zone) configurations, we don’t dictate construction. We focus on what we can do. We try to make sure people obey the speed limits, especially on I-70,” Rose said.
Colorado Department of Transportation officials are aware of a previous accident on this stretch of I-70, Inzeo said. It was not immediately clear when it happened or what vehicle was involved.
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