Nearly five hours after a traffic accident shut down all east-bound lanes of Interstate 70 near the Hidden Valley exit, traffic is still crawling at 9:30 p.m.
The shoulder lane was opened some time around 7 p.m. allowing minimal traffic to squeeze by, but the Colorado State Patrol told travelers to take Exit 244 and take alternative routes. Traffic is being detoured to U.S. Highway 6 to Clear Creek Canyon.
“There is still a huge delay,” said Trooper Tim Sutherland of the Colorado State Patrol.
The accident involved two motorcyclists around 5 p.m. The incident report was still available hours later.
The Colorado Department of Transportation has been updating travelers of the delay on Twitter. At 9:20 p.m., , “Delays EB I-70 US-40 to Floyd Hill,b/c accident clean up.”
About an hour earlier, it notified drivers to expect a 30-minute delay with the trip from Silverthorne to Denver and C-470 to take about 85 minutes. Typically, the route would take about an hour, according to Google Maps.
Tamara Chuang: 303-954-1209, tchuang@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Gadgetress
