The Colorado Department of Transportation has completed its Interstate 70 auxiliary lane project between Frisco and Silverthorne aimed at improving safety on a critical highway artery for Summit County residents, visitors and through traffic.

After two summers of minor road impacts related to the project, Colorado Department of Transportation executive director Shoshana Lew said Tuesday, Dec. 5, that crews have wrapped up work on the project.

“This is anticipated to reduce crashes, help people move around each other in rough conditions, make it easier for freight traffic, single-occupancy vehicles, buses — everyone,” Lew said. “This area, as we all know, experiences very high volumes of traffic, particularly on the weekends, and in the winter we’re navigating weather conditions as we just saw over the weekend.”

With construction costs totaling around $24 million, the I-70 auxiliary lane project included the construction of an additional lane along approximately 3.5 miles of eastbound I-70 between Frisco and Silverthorne, according to the transportation department.

The project also included structural work to widen two eastbound bridges over the Blue River and U.S. Highway 6, installation of wildlife fencing along both eastbound and westbound I-70 and a longer deceleration lane at Exit 205 in Silverthorne.

Colorado Department of Transportation Region 3 transportation director Jason Smith said the area where wildlife fencing was installed had previously seen 38 vehicle-animal crashes over a five-year span. The transportation department hopes the fencing will result in a 80% drop in such crashes, Smith said.

Less noticeable parts of the auxiliary lane project included drainage improvements and additional commercial and passenger vehicle parking at the scenic overlook on eastbound I-70, he added.

The Colorado Department of Transportation has also recently added sidewalks near U.S. Highway 6 and Colorado Highway 9 as well as reconfigured traffic signal timing along that stretch of road in Dillon and Silverthorne, resulting in a 15% faster timing, Smith said.

Overall, the auxiliary lane project resulted in minimal traffic impacts throughout its construction and wrapped up in October, earlier than originally planned, he said.

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Federal Highway Administration division administrator John Cater noted significant safety improvements associated with the project. The project should reduce backups at both the Exit 205 interchange and the Exit 203 interchange, Cater said.

From 2009 to 2014, Colorado had about 400 traffic-related fatalities a year, but that has grown dramatically to about 760 such fatalities in the state last year, or about two people dying on the road each day, he said. 

“That’s horrific,” Cater said. “It’s something we have to do something about, and this project is one of the many things we’re doing statewide to help address that.”

Colorado House Speaker Julie McCluskie called the auxiliary lane project a “desperately needed and improved safety feature along I-70” and noted that for the almost 90,000 constituents in her district, which includes Summit County, transportation and road safety are a top topic.

McCluskie pointed to I-70’s important role in the Colorado state economy as well as for local travelers who live in the community and rely on the interstate to go about their everyday lives.

“We know that this is better for everyone who’s on the road,” McCluskie said. “I-70 is a critical part of the infrastructure to the Western Slope economy. We know we need to keep this road open, and this particular space makes that possible.”

The I-70 auxiliary lane project between Frisco and Silverthorne was part of a Colorado Department of Transportation 10-year plan for the area. With the conclusion of the project, the transportation department has started to look ahead to the next project in line: the Frisco Exit 203 interchange project.

The Colorado Department of Transportation held an open house last month in Frisco to solicit public input on the Exit 203 project, which could reportedly get underway as soon as spring 2025 or summer 2026.

The Exit 203 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 transportation department. One of its main goals reportedly is to alleviate dangerous backups at westbound Exit 203.