About ten kilometers east of Glenwood Springs, a semi-trailer truck crashed on I-70 at around 9:30 a.m. The road has remained closed to eastbound traffic since 3:00 p.m.
Due to an accident involving a semi-trailer truck, the eastbound lanes of the I-70 corridor in Glenwood Canyon have been closed since 9:30 a.m. today.
“It is unknown when the eastbound lanes will open. Out-of-state travelers are advised to avoid the area” and look for alternate routes for east-west travel, according to a Colorado Department of Transportation news release.
During the course of the day, numerous motorists left I-70 at Glenwood Springs and took State Highway 82 to Aspen to reach the Front Range via Independence Pass. By 1 p.m., traffic was backed up from Aspen to the Aspen Airport Business Center.
CDOT recommends the following: The “northern alternate route” is accessed in Rifle at Exit 87, then north on State Highway 13 to Craig. The route continues on US 40 to Steamboat Springs, then south on State Highway 9 to Silverthorne, where travelers rejoin I-70. (For more information on the route and current closure information, visit COtrip.org.)
Westbound traffic on I-70 is permitted to pass through the accident area. CDOT and the Colorado State Patrol are urging drivers to slow down and obey the posted speed limit in the area, the news release said.
The closure is due to a serious accident involving a semi-truck that crashed about 9:30 a.m. about 6 miles east of Glenwood Springs, the release said. The semi-truck was traveling in the westbound lanes of I-70 when it crashed through the guardrail and landed in the eastbound lanes of the lower deck, the release said.
No further information was available by 3 p.m.
