I-70 Glenwood Canyon bypass plan moving forward

Mar. 16—The narrow, winding, often impassable dirt road between Gypsum and Glenwood Springs used by drivers to get around emergency closures of Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon looks like it might be getting safety improvements — eventually.

Two open house presentations by the Colorado Department of Transportation are scheduled next week to unveil concept designs to the public.

CDOT is supporting Eagle and Garfield counties with initial concepts for safety improvements to the county roads. Drivers frustrated with rock and mudslide closures of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon discovered the route saved them hours of driving the CDOT-approved 220-mile detour through Silverthorne, Steamboat Springs, Craig, Meeker and Rifle — sometimes.

Traditionally, Cottonwood Pass has been a route for knowledgeable locals commuting between the Roaring Fork and the Eagle valleys, but only when road and weather conditions allow. The pass is closed in winter.

Parts of the road are one-lane and can be impassable when wet due to mud. Precipitous drops with no guard rails on the Gypsum side have taken lives.

Drivers unfamiliar with the areas using GPS mapping programs that automatically routed them over the pass sometimes found themselves in trouble when they got stuck in the slippery, gluey mud high up in uninhabited areas, miles from the nearest house and without cellphone service.

The problem was severe enough that in 2021 Google de-linked the east and west sides of the pass in its mapping program at the request of local officials to prevent the routing.

Eagle and Garfield counties asked for assistance in determining if upgrades to the road would make the back-country travel safer for smaller vehicles. The road is unsuitable for 18-wheelers and long vehicles.

The conceptual planning process got underway last year with CDOT taking the lead, even though the road is a county responsibility and not a state highway. While CDOT is assisting with the planning and engineering, Eagle and Garfield counties will be responsible for paying for the work and will have to find funding for it.

"If improvements move forward, they would be designed and constructed by the counties as funding becomes available," according to a CDOT press release announcing the meetings. "Funding for next steps has not been secured at this time, although CDOT and the counties continue to explore grant and other funding opportunities."

The open house meetings to introduce the public to conceptual designs to improve safety are scheduled for Wednesday, March 22 from 5:30 — 7:30 p.m. in Glenwood Springs at the Glenwood Springs Community Center and Thursday, March 23 from 5 — 7 p.m. at the Gypsum Town Hall Council Chamber, 50 Lundgren Blvd.

For more information on the Cottonwood Pass Concept Design project, visit cdot.gov.