Citing recent hit and run, Minturn mayor urges CDOT to keep extra lane in Vail Pass ‘Narrows’ plan
Vail Daily archive
The town of Minturn is joining the chorus in urging the Colorado Department of Transportation to stick to its original plan to construct an additional lane over the eastbound portion of Vail Pass known as the “Narrows.”
In a letter drafted to CDOT on Wednesday, Mayor Earle Bidez said Vail Pass closures are “particularly dangerous” for the town, as Highway 24 through Minturn becomes an alternative route for tractor-trailers looking to get around the pass closure.
Minturn is the second town in Eagle County to express concerns to CDOT after the town of Vail received information that the auxiliary lane over the Narrows would no longer be funded as part of CDOT’s 6-year project to make safety improvements on Vail Pass.
While the project includes several improvements — the alteration of substandard grades, replacement of bridges, creation of wildlife underpasses, and relocation of the Vail Pass Recreation Trail, to name a few — the addition of the extra lane is the namesake feature of the project, which is known as the I-70 West Vail Pass Auxiliary Lanes Project.
That auxiliary lane was originally slated to occur between mile markers 185 and 190, but a new plan being floated by CDOT calls for the lane to start at mile marker 187 instead of 185, eliminating the extra lane on the Narrows.
Support Local Journalism
Bidez, in his letter to CDOT, said without the extra lane on the Narrows, factors that create the issues on Vail Pass “will continue to result in vehicular accidents and pass closures which create a ripple effect throughout the region.”
That ripple effect includes I-70 traffic detouring through Minturn, “comingling large semi-trucks with small-town life,” Bidez wrote.
“This includes examples such as children walking home from the bus stop, locals crossing the street and cyclists trying to share the narrow road, which includes parking lanes, driveways, and collector roads,” Bidez wrote. “These concerns were exemplified with the most recent hit and run accident on March 2nd caused by a semi tanker truck trying to turn around with insufficient room, hitting a building and causing damage.”
Common sense
When crews broke ground on the project in 2021, CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew touted the project for its common sense benefits.
“When we think about what the benefits of this project will be, it’s just common sense,” Lew said. “It’s adding that auxiliary lane, so that in the winter, when we have those storm events, (as well as) other kinds of storms in other seasons … there’s a place for traffic to go and a place to be able to deal with the incident.”
In asking CDOT to leave the original auxiliary lane plan intact, Bidez made a common sense appeal to Lew and the others involved in the project.
“Construction teams are already mobilized, and costs continue to increase, making the project less attainable in the future,” Bidez wrote. “Now is the time to get this important safety improvement completed.”
Best practices
Captain Jared Rapp with Colorado State Patrol, in describing the need for the auxiliary lane as the project was breaking ground in 2021, said traffic incident management teams had established best practices which resulted in the frequent closures of I-70 on Vail Pass.
“This project will allow a third lane for us to be able to work safely,” he said. “Whenever there’s a crash, the best practice is taking one lane plus another with a 12-foot buffer.”
As Vail Pass has two lanes, that means the entire roadway must be closed to deal with an incident that only occupies one lane. Adding an additional lane will allow traffic to continue to flow while adhering to the best practices referenced by Rapp.
“The improvements to the Narrows remain a key component for considering the West Vail Pass Project a success,” Bidez wrote. “This project has region-wide support because of the impact the events on Vail Pass have throughout the greater community. Without the improvements to the Narrows section of Vail Pass, Minturn fears we will continue to see the high accident and closure rates which not only negatively impact life and safety on I-70 but also negatively impact the alternate routes like U.S. HWY 24 which are not suited for large scale semi-truck traffic.”
Complete letter text below:
Dear Governor Polis and Director Lew,
The Minturn Town Council would like to express our concern with CDOT’s decision to eliminate key improvements planned for the eastbound auxiliary lane portion of the West Vail Pass Project. This portion of the project, commonly known as the “Narrows” is a critical improvement toward ensuring the project goals of improved safety and operations are achieved. Without improvements in this two-mile section, factors which create the myriad of issues along this corridor will continue to result in vehicular accidents and pass closures which create a ripple effect throughout the region.
Vail Pass closures are a particularly dangerous time for the residents of Minturn. U.S. Highway 24 runs through the heart of the Town where much of our community lives within several hundred feet of this roadway. The negative impacts of highway traffic in a town that seeks to promote alternative transportation methods such as cycling and pedestrian options, are numerous and these safety issues are magnified every time Vail Pass closes.
With each Vail Pass closure Minturn must address the safety concerns that stem from
comingling large semi-trucks with small-town life. This includes examples such as children walking home from the bus stop, locals crossing the street and cyclists trying to share the narrow road, which includes parking lanes, driveways, and collector roads. These concerns were exemplified with the most recent hit and run accident on March 2nd caused by a semi tanker truck trying to turn around with insufficient room, hitting a building and causing damage.
The improvements to the narrows remain a key component for considering the West Vail Pass Project a success. This project has region-wide support because of the impact the events on Vail Pass have throughout the greater community. Without the improvements to the narrows section of Vail Pass, Minturn fears we will continue to see the high accident and closure rates which not only negatively impact life and safety on I-70 but also negatively impact the alternate routes like U.S. HWY 24 which are not suited for large scale semi-truck traffic.
Completing this section of the project is critical. Construction teams are already mobilized, and costs continue to increase, making the project less attainable in the future. Now is the time to get this important safety improvement completed. Although expensive, the Minturn Town Council hopes you will consider the safety benefits this portion of the project provides to Colorado residents and visitors as a worthwhile expenditure and reconsider keeping the narrows improvements included in the project.
Sincerely,
Earle Bidez, Mayor
Town of Minturn
