Numerous traffic accidents dotted roads and highways west of Denver as wet roads froze over early this morning.
Most of the accidents happened in the foothills, including along the Interstate-70 corridor, C-470 and West Sixth Avenue, said Joe Tucker, a Colorado Department of Transportation spokesman.
“It definitely got cold enough to freeze the light sheet of water, and that started playing havoc with the traffic,” Tucker said.
CDOT trucks were dispatched early today to sand some of the slick roads, Tucker said.
Denver’s low dipped to 30 degrees at 4:08 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.
One of the accidents closed eastbound West Sixth Avenue near Kipling Street before 6 a.m., and another accident, at about the same time and near the same spot, occurred in the westbound lanes, Tucker said.
“There were so many accidents, we couldn’t count them,” Tucker said.
The Colorado State Patrol issued an accident alert for portions of the foothills and the west metro area.
Meanwhile, traffic on Interstate 25 flowed well and was in good shape throughout the morning, Tucker said.
The West Sixth Avenue accidents were cleared out quickly, and the freeway was reopened and running smoothly by 8 a.m.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
