When you’re commuting, the drive is a blank space between two points, something you finish as quickly as possible. But the twin fates of weather and other people’s rotten road skills often intervene to make quick impossible.
Fortunately, there are many tools in the glove box that can help you find your way out of the labyrinth.
Check the radio: In Denver, the most reliable in-car traffic reports come from 850 KOA on the 10s. Though the reports tend to be scanty on information from the northern stretches, they hit everything from downtown Denver south hard and accurate. Take their cues and look for an alternate route when traffic gets knotty.
Try GPS: Install a GPS system in your car, which will help you figure out shortcuts and even tell you about the traffic conditions. Clear Channel’s Total Traffic network pushes its breaking reports – aggregated from the Department of Transportation, plane, auto and helicopter reporters – through portable GPS units, including the Garmin nuvi 660. It’s a subscription service, but it keeps you from getting stuck in an interstate parking lot.
Sign up for : This free service will push traffic alerts into the e-mail or text-message box of your choice at the times you choose. On an unfamiliar highway? Dial 866-698-7232 and follow the voice prompts for up to the minute traffic conditions.
Mind the signs: The Colorado Department of Transportation updates the black signs hanging over I-25, U.S. 36 and I-70 when conditions get rough, whether due to weather or major accidents. And they know what they’re talking about. If the sign says “U.S. 36 closed due to accident,” it flashes the truth. Exit as soon as you can and pick your way home along arterial routes.
Get the puck: It’s probably the cost that keeps the E-470 beltway one of the best kept traffic secrets in the metro area. But if you’re in a huge rush to get through the metro knot, $9.75 seems a small price to pay to skirt clots of weekday traffic.
The good news is that the same ExpressToll transponder that lets you fly the 46 miles from Parker to Lafayette and back without slowing down for so much as a speed bump is also your best friend on I-25 between downtown Denver and U.S. 36.
Depending on the time of day, you can pay between 50 cents and $3.25 to go solo in the I-25 Express lanes. “It’s not like you need it every day, but sometimes you have to be some place and you can’t deal with traffic,” says CDOT spokeswoman Stacey Stegman.
Sign up for an ExpressToll transponder online at , or at Albertsons, King Soopers, Safeway and FlatIron Crossing mall. Deposit $35 into your account and you’re on the road.
