Slow down for & emergency vehicles, and road crews working to give you a safe New Years Eve.
— ICFPD (@ICFPD)
Numerous vehicle crashes during a snowstorm on Monday tied up traffic in several locations in the Denver metro area, in the mountains and on Interstate 25 in southern Colorado, authorities say.
Two people were taken to a hospital following an 8:27 a.m. crash along northbound Highway 285 in Jefferson County when a semitrailer rolled over on its side, said Trooper Josh Lewis, spokesman for the Colorado State Patrol.
“Certainly weather is a factor at this time,” Lewis said.
Denver’s weather on Monday, the last day of 2018, was frigid. The high temperature, 32 degrees, happened early at 12:45 a.m. and the day just got colder from there. At about 9 p.m., Denver’s temperature was 6 degrees and dropping, according to the National Weather Service.
Snow fell throughout the day in the metro area, with heavier amounts to the west. At 5 p.m., 3.1 inches of snow was reported in Boulder, according to the weather service, with 4 inches in Jefferson County at Genesee.
Meanwhile, traffic snarled throughout the day and into the night as roads iced over in spots and snow began sticking in stretches.
A crash early Monday afternoon on northbound I-25 at Lincoln Avenue closed the right and left lanes of the highway. Traffic was crawling through on the middle lane, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
The eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 were closed at the Hanging Lake exit in Glenwood Canyon because of multiple crashes, according to a 1:23 p.m. CDOT tweet.
I-70 EB: Crash at Exit 125 – Hanging Lake. Road closed. Road closed eastbound at mile 125 due to multiple crashes
— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT)
The left and center lanes of northbound I-25 at Castle Pines Parkway closed, CDOT reported at 9:48 a.m.
Two more wrecks were reported about an hour later on I-25 northbound near Exit 192 near RidgeGate Parkway. Those crashes had closed the left and right lanes, according to a CDOT tweet.
Eastbound Green Valley Ranch Boulevard reopened at Tower Road following a two-vehicle crash with minor injuries. The right lane of southbound I-25 at Downing has also been reopened following an early morning accident, according to a tweet by the Colorado Department of Transportation.
The cities of Wheat Ridge and Aurora, as well as Arapahoe County, were on accident alert Monday.
To the south, a stretch of I-25 was closed in both directions by a jack-knifed semi, according to CDOT. The highway shut down at about 5:30 p.m. north of Walsenburg in Huerfano County. The highway reopened at about 6:50 p.m.
U.S. Highway 6 in Jefferson County was closed for about two hours in Clear Creek Canyon between Colorado 119 and Colorado 93, CDOT said. The highway closed at about 5:50 p.m. when a vehicle slid off the road. It reopened at about 7:50 p.m. after authorities recovered the vehicle. There was no immediate reports of injuries.
