A helicopter and trucks will carry supplies to Loveland ski area Thursday for routine maintenance on the Gazex avalanche prevention system, possibly causing traffic delays.
The mission will begin at daylight and last into the early afternoon as Colorado Department of Transportation crews escort vehicles carrying hazardous materials through the Eisenhower Tunnel at the top of every hour. Trucks likely will wait for processing before entering the tunnel at staging areas, CDOT officials said.
The uses propane to trigger concussive blasts of compressed air in snow-loading zones.
CDOT installed the system in 2015. It includes 11 Gazex exploders on Loveland Pass and five in the Stanley slide path that twice crosses U.S. 40 on Berthoud Pass.
A Gazex shelter is located at Loveland ski area.
CDOT advised people traveling Interstate 70 to check or CDOT’s 511 phone line.
