IDAHO SPRINGS — Some days it took two hours for Cindy Sterner to drive a few miles through a sea of orange cones and traffic to deliver meals to needy elderly people in and around Idaho Springs.
Sterner, a supervisor for Volunteers of America, said the has plagued the historic mountain town and impaired her Meals on Wheels deliveries more times than she can count.
“It’s hurt us,” Sterner said. “It’s all for the skiers. What about the people who live here and want to go the store for a loaf of bread?”
For more than a year, on I-70 between Empire and Idaho Springs has wreaked havoc on the town’s tourism and general atmosphere, residents said.
But now that project — intended to ease congestion on high-traffic days like the Sunday trek back from skiing — is complete. The Colorado Department of Transportation ran a .
The I-70 mountain corridor, which feeds businesses in Idaho Springs and other mountain communities, has been the focus of state transportation officials for several years. CDOT crews expanded the eastbound approach to the Veterans Memorial Tunnels — formerly the Twin Tunnels — to three lanes in 2013. And last year, CDOT widened the westbound bore of the Veterans Memorial Tunnels.
The toll lane, a 13-mile stretch from Empire to Idaho Springs, will be open 73 days a year and is designed to ease eastbound congestion during high-travel periods.
Idaho Springs Mayor Michael Hillman hopes the toll lane will help.
“I’m being very optimistic,” he said. “We really want this thing to work. We’re hoping the congestion will be eased and the traffic will stay up on the highway so our city won’t be gridlocked.
Locals said they face traffic woes on two fronts: Folks trying to avoid delays on the highway cut through the town’s main drag and cause headaches for residents just trying to get around. Secondly, commuters who normally might swing into town for shopping or food skip the exits because of uneasy access and frustration with sitting at a standstill for so long.
Not everyone is convinced the toll lane will help.
“You want to hear me say one positive thing?” said Dan Ebert, owner of Two Brothers Deli on Miner Street. “They’re done until they start the next project.”
Ebert said from October 2014 to February 2015, he reduced staffing at his deli by 30 percent. He directly correlates the decline in business to the toll lane and other construction.
“It’s a silly idea designed to shuffle people through this county,” he said, referring to the new lane. “My employees suffered because of it.”
Linda Chappell was hard at work on a puzzle in the Frothy Cup coffee shop on Miner Street.
While Chappell thought the toll lane might cut down on time staring at brake lights, she thought it would, ultimately, be a detriment to the town when motorists in the toll lane zoom by the Idaho Springs exits.
Hillman said there are signs in the works that will alert toll lane drivers to an upcoming Idaho Springs exit and give them enough time to get over.
To avoid a repeat of 2014, when construction went over deadline and Hillman put his foot down on December work on the bridge at Exit 241.
“We could not have that type of construction going on through our holiday season this year,” Hillman said. “We can’t do that to Idaho Springs, and CDOT was very willing to listen to us.”
The construction will begin again in January, Hillman said.
The mayor wants the public to know that his town is ready to spread holiday cheer.
“Idaho Springs is open for business,” he said. “The traffic is going to be better. Make your way to the mountains.”
Elizabeth Hernandez: 303-954-1223, ehernandez@d enverpost.com or @ehernandez
