As the Colorado Department of Transportation wraps up summer roadwork on Interstate 70 in Summit County, the department is looking ahead to a future project aimed at relieving dangerous backups at Exit 203 in Frisco.

The Exit 203 interchange project will focus on safety, mobility and operational improvements to the I-70 interchange with Colorado Highway 9 and an adjacent intersection with Dillon Dam Road, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Summit County residents had an opportunity to review and give feedback on the project during an open house at the Frisco Day Lodge on Wednesday, Oct. 25. Courtney Meade, a lead roadway engineer with the design company WSP USA, LLC, said one of the driving considerations behind the project is backups that form on the westbound offramp at Exit 203.

“The catalyst of this project was essentially this roundabout here at the westbound (I-70) off-ramp. The existing roundabout essentially breaks down,” Meade said. “If you can picture all the northbound traffic on Highway 9, there are so many cars coming through it to make that westbound on I-70. There’s no gaps in the traffic.”

That creates major backups for westbound traffic exiting I-70 that can leave a line of vehicles at a near-dead stop on the exit ramp. The stopped traffic creates a hazard for unsuspecting drivers who have to brake sooner than expected from the 70 mph speed limit on the interstate when exiting at the 203 into Frisco.

Frisco Town Council member Andrew Aerenson said at the open house that he — like most Summit County residents — has encountered the dangerous backups on the westbound I-70 exit ramp.

“It’s scary as hell,” Aerenson said. “I’ll be coming down I-70, and I’ll be doing my speed, and all of a sudden traffic is stopped. I’ll even usually dart out from the traffic and fly to the next exit and get out of there.”

Colorado Department of Transportation Project Manager Scott Harris said that funding for the interchange project has already been allocated in the transportation department’s 10-year plan, but the department is still assessing whether to phase the project or do it all at once. The project is expected to cost about $44 million between designs, obtaining right-of-ways and construction, Harris said.

If split into two phases, the first phase would focus on replacing the existing roundabout with a traffic signal and widening the overpass over I-70, Harris said. The second phase would then focus on the Dillon Dam Road intersection with construction of two new roundabouts and an overpass where Colorado Highway 9 will pass over an extension off Lusher Court, he said.

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The project could get underway as soon as spring 2025, if broken into two phases, with each phase expected to take about two years, Harris said. If done all at once, the project would likely get started a little later, potentially in summer 2026, and would take about three years to complete, he said.

For westbound travelers, the Exit 203 off-ramp would remain single lane but would be widened to create an additional left turn lane near the intersection with Colorado Highway 9, Harris said. That should allow additional room for vehicles to queue while the traffic signal at the intersection will help maintain a more equal traffic flow, he said.

As part of improvements to the intersection with Dillon Dam Road, a roundabout would be built at the intersection of Lusher Court and Meadow Drive. A new stretch of roadway would extend north out of the roundabout behind an existing hotel and then hook east toward another new roundabout at the intersection of Dillon Dam Road and North 10 Mile Road. Colorado Highway 9 would overpass this new stretch of road.

The road improvements on Colorado Highway 9 would also include a multi-use path that would allow bikers and pedestrians better access over the I-70.

“Right now, today, there is really no way to get from the south side of I-70 to the north,” Meade said, “and there’s a whole bunch of trails up there.”

Aerenson, the Frisco Town Council member, said he believes that the project is needed and will be good for the town. He said he expects that the Colorado Department of Transportation will continue to allow the town some “white canvas” to add artistic design features to the medians and roundabouts.

“I think it solves problems. I think it creates better access,” Aerenson said. “I’ve seen where it’s started, and they’ve come so far along to make it a problem solver. I love it. I hope it gets built. I don’t see a downside.”