Bakerville – A water hydrant burst inside the heavily traveled Eisenhower Tunnel in 12-degree weather today, coating the eastbound roadway with ice and closing it to traffic for nearly two hours.
One eastbound lane was reopened at 10:15 a.m. and the other by 11 a.m., state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Stacey Stegman said. Westbound traffic was not affected.
The twin-bore, four-lane tunnel on Interstate 70 – the state’s main east-west route through the mountains – carries about 26,000 vehicles a day in December. The eastern portal is 11,000 feet above sea level.
“When the hydrant broke it froze all over the road,” she said.
They had to plow and sand it before it could reopen.” Some 50,000 gallons of water spilled.
It was the latest misfortune to befall Colorado since an arctic cold wave locked the state in bone-chilling temperatures late Tuesday.
The temperature plummeted to minus 29 in Gunnison between Wednesday night and this morning, the National Weather Service said.
The overnight low was 24 below zero in Meeker, 20 below in Craig and 18 below in Aspen.
Relief from the cold was in sight: Highs were expected to reach upper teens in the mountains today, 20s on the Western Slope and 30s in Denver and along the Front Range.
