FRISCO — Transportation officials in Colorado want to install a $20 million sprinkler system in the Eisenhower Tunnel to mitigate risk of a fire.
The four-lane Eisenhower-John son Memorial Tunnel on Interstate 70 is among the busiest corridors across the Continental Divide and is one of the highest highway tunnels in the world. The Summit Daily News reports that the Colorado Department of Transportation seeks a water-mist system to control heat from a possible fire so that firefighters could get inside.
CDOT is looking to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to help pay for the suppression system. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., told the newspaper that he believes there is “significant national interest” in making the tunnels safer.
“Interstate 70 is a major east-west corridor, and we need a fire-suppression system to protect lives and the tunnel itself,” Udall said. “I’ve been working with the homeland-security and transportation subcommittees to explain the urgency of making this investment.”
If the tunnel were to be significantly damaged by fire, transportation officials say, a closure could be devastating to the Colorado economy.
The Associated Press
