I 70 sucks

[Noodler]

Interesting list put out by Volvo on the most loathed highways in the country. From a skiing perspective a couple of interesting roads on the list. Of course lead by good old I-70 in 5th place. Other "ski roads" listed include The New York Thruway at number 8, I-80 in New Jersey (leading to the Pocono's) at 25, I-80 in Utah at 64, US 191 around Jackson in Wyoming at 91, and US 7 in Vermont at 92 and finally at 99, I-93 in New Hampshire.

Americas Most Loathed Highways | Gunther Volvo Cars Daytona Beach

www.gunthervolvocarsdaytona.com

Ugh. But not surprised that I-70 ended up that high on such an infamous list.

What I'm finding is that there is no longer any time, on any day, that I-70 isn't experiencing some level of congestion. The change in working from home and flex hours (since Covid) has made the situation become unbearable. I just skied yesterday and traffic on I-70 was thicccccck. And I traveled during what you would think would have been non-peak hours.

 

[jmeb]

The change in working from home and flex hours (since Covid) has made the situation become unbearable. I just skied yesterday and traffic on I-70 was thicccccck.

Pros and cons for me. I'm one of those people that has more flexible hours and am work from home post COVID. I70 is more bearable for me now because I don't always have to fight Sat/Sunday -- even if it means more traffic during the week. It does suck when I'm just trying to get to Leadville for work, but ce la vie.

 

[Don in Morrison]

Are the resorts along I-70 noticeably more crowded in the past few years? I've only skied at Monarch since 2021. In 2019-20 I had to be at the hogback by 6:00 to make it to Granby Ranch by 8:30. On a Saturday morning this past January I was on my way to see family in Utah. I was at the hogback about 6:00 at went past Loveland about 9:00. I've got a pass for Loveland this year and I'll probably only be using it on weekdays if I can.

The earthwork on Floyd Hill suggests they might be widening it by shaving off the mountainside on the south side of the road instead of building that weird flyover thing on the other side. I'd think widening the road would be way less complicated, but nobody knows about "KISS" any more.

 

[4aprice]

Are the resorts along I-70 noticeably more crowded in the past few years? I've only skied at Monarch since 2021. In 2019-20 I had to be at the hogback by 6:00 to make it to Granby Ranch by 8:30. On a Saturday morning this past January I was on my way to see family in Utah. I was at the hogback about 6:00 at went past Loveland about 9:00. I've got a pass for Loveland this year and I'll probably only be using it on weekdays if I can.

The earthwork on Floyd Hill suggests they might be widening it by shaving off the mountainside on the south side of the road instead of building that weird flyover thing on the other side. I'd think widening the road would be way less complicated, but nobody knows about "KISS" any more.

Had to look up the hogback. I've always known it as the Dinosaur Lot. Guess its the same thing.

Saw the work on Floyd Hill when I was out at Thanksgiving. I saw the plans of the "flyover thing" as well but thought that was down lower from where they were cutting into the mountain (like down by the Rt 6 interchange and the bar that's down there too) so I assumed they still planned on doing that.

 

[UGASkiDawg]

Are the resorts along I-70 noticeably more crowded in the past few years? I've only skied at Monarch since 2021. In 2019-20 I had to be at the hogback by 6:00 to make it to Granby Ranch by 8:30. On a Saturday morning this past January I was on my way to see family in Utah. I was at the hogback about 6:00 at went past Loveland about 9:00. I've got a pass for Loveland this year and I'll probably only be using it on weekdays if I can.

The earthwork on Floyd Hill suggests they might be widening it by shaving off the mountainside on the south side of the road instead of building that weird flyover thing on the other side. I'd think widening the road would be way less complicated, but nobody knows about "KISS" any more.

Both they are doing both...widening and doing the flyover

 

[dbostedo]

Not surprised to see a lot of roads I frequent on the list... I-70 in CO, I-66, I-95, I-495, I-270, and I-695 in the Washington/Baltimore area all on the list, and I-76 (PA Turnpike) and I-376 in western Pennsylvania. I also sometimes hit I-95 and I-93 when working or skiing in New Hampshire. I'm starting to think that all highways just suck sometimes.

Though thankfully I can work around things much of the time (like flying into Eagle and avoiding the worst of CO I-70, or travelling at off-peak hours around DC to avoid the worst of MD I-70).

 

[Henry]

What I'm finding is that there is no longer any time, on any day, that I-70 isn't experiencing some level of congestion. The change in working from home and flex hours (since Covid) has made the situation become unbearable.

We who rent lodgings for a Summit county ski trip find a related problem. The number of people who bought condos or live & work in the ones they used to rent out has reduced the condos in the rental pools. This drives people to hotels, and hotel & condo short term rental rates have climbed a lot. The I-70 linear parking lot is a clue.....

 

[HardDaysNight]

I really can’t understand all this angst. Everyone knows that skiing is dying as a sport/activity! This is why we need Herculean efforts to get more people out on the slopes. Cheap passes, cheap lessons (well, actually not cheap lessons because that would cut into profit margins), kindly treatment of new skiers, etc.

 

[Noodler]

Pros and cons for me. I'm one of those people that has more flexible hours and am work from home post COVID. I70 is more bearable for me now because I don't always have to fight Sat/Sunday -- even if it means more traffic during the week. It does suck when I'm just trying to get to Leadville for work, but ce la vie.

Yep, you people suck.

I was working remotely and with flex hours long before Covid struck. I didn't realize the end was near...

 

[Bozzenhagen]

I got remote/flex late 2019. I had no idea crypto and the housing market would explode that much during 2020. Probably the one time I should've been financially irresponsible and dumb.

I consider Friday to be "remote worker flex day" (from Denver). Friday/Saturday has got to be the worst days to go. Friday might be better than Sunday if you have to take the I-70 home to Denver though.

 

[Noodler]

I got remote/flex late 2019. I had no idea crypto and the housing market would explode that much during 2020. Probably the one time I should've been financially irresponsible and dumb.

I consider Friday to be "remote worker flex day" (from Denver). Friday/Saturday has got to be the worst days to go. Friday might be better than Sunday if you have to take the I-70 home to Denver though.

A weird thing seems to have started happening on Sundays. You have the folks that don't want to get caught in the Sunday afternoon traffic jam, so they leave earlier. So I've run into more traffic at 11:30 a.m. for the return, than at about 1:00 p.m. It's like there's a "hole" that opens up between the folks trying to get ahead of it and the one's that want to get more of their full ski day in.

Luckily, skiing at LL on a Sunday allows me to keep an eye on what's going on since you can see the highway (along with watching the map).

 

[4aprice]

A weird thing seems to have started happening on Sundays. You have the folks that don't want to get caught in the Sunday afternoon traffic jam, so they leave earlier. So I've run into more traffic at 11:30 a.m. for the return, than at about 1:00 p.m. It's like there's a "hole" that opens up between the folks trying to get ahead of it and the one's that want to get more of their full ski day in.

Luckily, skiing at LL on a Sunday allows me to keep an eye on what's going on since you can see the highway (along with watching the map).

I was so amused the 1st time I saw the CDOT cams on Super Gauge at Mary Jane

 

[Prosper]

black ice

black ice

black ice

Why do you all have to bring up the color of the ice? Maybe we should all agree to call it invisible ice.


And there it is. My 1000th post.

 

[Doug Briggs]

Why do you all have to bring up the color of the ice? Maybe we should all agree to call it invisible ice.


And there it is. My 1000th post.

Ha ha.

Did you know the Black/Negro Breck bus was renamed Gold/Dorado?

 

[Bill Miles]

Sucked even more when, before the tunnel, you had to drive over Loveland pass in a snowstorm or detour way down South.

 

[coskigirl]

The earthwork on Floyd Hill suggests they might be widening it by shaving off the mountainside on the south side of the road instead of building that weird flyover thing on the other side. I'd think widening the road would be way less complicated, but nobody knows about "KISS" any more.

The flyover is meant to reduce how sharp the turn at the bottom of the hill is. Just widening the road won't do that. That turn causes people to slow significantly which then creates backup and accidents.

 

[Doug Briggs]

Sucked even more when, before the tunnel, you had to drive over Loveland pass in a snowstorm or detour way down South.

Touché.

 

[Ogg]

Why do you all have to bring up the color of the ice? Maybe we should all agree to call it invisible ice.


And there it is. My 1000th post.

I always hated the term"black ice" because people always use it to refer to ice that appeared out of nowhere for some mysterious reason and caught them by surprise. If it's below or near freezing anything on the road that looks wet or even damp is potentially icy and should be treated as such.

 

[Bozzenhagen]

I always hated the term"black ice" because people always use it to refer to ice that appeared out of nowhere for some mysterious reason and caught them by surprise. If it's below or near freezing anything on the road that looks wet or even damp is potentially icy and should be treated as such.

Nah, the elite "I-70 athletes" have full faith in C-DOT and send it over 70mph in below freezing temps on treated wet roads; even around corners with some centrifugal force. If it re-freezes or C-DOT missed a spot....

 

[Prosper]

The flyover is meant to reduce how sharp the turn at the bottom of the hill is. Just widening the road won't do that. That turn causes people to slow significantly which then creates backup and accidents.

Not to mention the loss of a lane at the top of Floyd Hill and US 6 joining in at the bottom. There are a lot of reasons that contribute to the frequent slow down.