Tired of wondering how long the I-70 back-up will last? Spend too much time wondering if you should get off at Empire?
CDOT is exploring a way to help.
Starting today and through the next week, drivers might encounter a “45 minutes to Frisco” sign.
State transportation officials plan to test an electronic messaging system to let motorists know estimated travel times on Interstate 70 between C-470 and Copper Mountain.
Transponder readers, radar and traffic-metering devices along eastbound and westbound I-70 will process data to predict travel times to specific destinations in the 60-mile corridor, said Stacey Stegman, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Travel-time messaging can help motorists make better travel decisions, said Clear Creek County Commissioner Harry Dale.
If the messaging program is a success, it could remove some of the guesswork that now accompanies trips in the I-70 mountain corridor.
Especially on weekends and during peak holiday travel periods, travel on I-70 west of metro Denver can be maddeningly slow, with too many vehicles trying to squeeze through the narrow mountain corridor at the same time.
For years, CDOT has been studying ways to improve the movement of people and goods in the corridor.
The state has favored widening I-70 at strategic locations; critics say CDOT is too fixated on highway expansion and they are pushing for more bus and train service, possibly even a futuristic monorail.
The message signs on I-70 are about 15 miles apart. There are six on the westbound side and eight for eastbound. Travel-time messages will not be broadcast if an accident or other incident such as a rockfall closes the road, Stegman said.
Transponder readers used to calculate travel times are not able to collect personal data on vehicles, and the information is purged from the system within two hours, Stegman said.
At the end of the test period, CDOT will consider making the program permanent and expanding it to make the same travel information available on its website, Stegman said.
“We need to ensure that we’re getting reliable data,” she said.
Dale did point out one possible downside of the messages: “The more detailed information you put on signs, people slow down. It can create traffic jams.”
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-820-1645 or at jleib@denverpost.com.
