While a trail of red brake lights may be frustrating to those trying to plunge deep into pockets of powder, the traffic jams also ensnare people trying to commute to or from work in Colorado’s mountains. 

Those who frequently use Interstate 70 have grown accustomed to congestion and crashes over the last few years as Colorado’s world-class ski resorts continue to attract millions to the mountains. With frequent backups causing issues on I-70 near the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels, Exit 205 near Silverthorne and Exit 195 approaching Copper Mountain/Leadville, public officials have been raising concerns about easing the vehicle-fueled chaos, especially around holidays and during snowstorms.

As Copper Mountain Resort seeks to expand its ski terrain, improve on-mountain circulation and upgrade facilities, according to a recently released master plan, residents in the region have begun to inquire about plans to ease congestion on the roads near the resort.

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Silverthorne resident Heather Wickstrom has been impacted multiple times by the skier traffic heading toward Copper, where traffic can back up onto I-70 and bring the interstate to a halt.

“It has happened a couple times where I was driving from Summit County to the Vail area,” Wickstrom said. “I think it was after a snow storm, so there were a lot of people coming into the county. It wasn’t unusual. We know that happens.”

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As Wickstrom passed by the Officers Gulch area, she was astonished to see how backed up the interstate was and how almost everyone seemed to be trying to cut right toward the Copper/Leadville exit to access the resort and Colorado Highway 91, which runs between the two towns. 

“It came to a complete stop,” Wickstrom said. “Turns out that the majority of the people were going to Copper for skiing. There are two lanes there, but then there is an extra lane that opens for Copper. That exit lane becomes two at some point. All of the traffic on I-70 was backed up because everyone was trying to get off at that exit.”

Wickstrom says that the traffic was so backed up that everyone was choosing to use the far-left, thru lane in hopes of cutting the line of vehicles heading to Copper. As a result, Wickstrom, and others trying to driver further west on I-70 or to Leadville were forced to wait in the jam.

“It was so ridiculous,” Wickstrom said. “I couldn’t even believe it. I am certain anyone trying to get to Leadville would be trapped in that, but it is not just those people. I had to sit for 15 to 20 minutes in that area, which I thought was completely ridiculous.”

Eventually, Wickstrom said traffic started to spill into the lots at Copper Mountain, allowing her to continue to make her way toward Vail for work. 

While Wickstrom successfully made it to the event she was working at, she did not budget enough time to be stuck in traffic, resulting in a late arrival. 

“It is bad when the highway gets all blocked, but I guess we are just getting used to it,” Wickstrom said. “That is a sad thing to say for the mountains.”

Copper Mountain says it is committed to easing congestion

Traffic issues near ski areas isn’t a unique problem to Copper Mountain. Residents in Summit County have raised concerns about similar situations near Keystone and Breckenridge, while skier traffic to other resorts across the Western Slope has resulted in what some have called a “traffic nightmare.”

As the sport rises in popularity, towns across the West have struggled to keep up with demand, including Cottonwood Canyon in Utah, where state officials are seeking new transportation routes to improve issues related to public safety.

In a statement provided to the Summit Daily News, Copper Mountain Resort acknowledged that congestion is a known challenge and that the resort continues to make improvements to parking and traffic flow. 

Before the 2023-24 season, the resort added 900 new parking spaces to the Far East lot to increase capacity, and this winter the resort implemented a new parking-flow strategy for busy weekends. The new traffic pattern prioritizes parking in the Far East lot before the Alpine lot has filled. 

According to Copper, the new parking strategy has created a smoother flow of vehicles from the on-ramp and into the lot.

Though the master plan outlining details of the expansion doesn’t reference any infrastructure upgrades to Colorado Highway 91 or Interstate 70, it does outline ideas to build parking structures in some lots and spend money on encouraging carpooling and use of public transportation.

Copper stated that it views the Colorado Department of Transportation as a valuable partner, and the resort continues to explore ways to improve traffic flow in and around the resort. The two groups even partnered this year to add additional public transportation opportunities from the Front Range to the resort through its Snowstang program.

The resort stressed that it is committed to continuing to work on solutions to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion.

Colorado Department of Transportation shares concerns about traffic

According to the Colorado Department of Transportation regional transportation director Jason Smith, CDOT recognizes there is a problem with the common traffic buildups on I-70 and Colorado Highway 91, which runs from Copper Mountain to Leadville.

Smith said the agency is concerned with the traffic, and he said the agency has communicated its “continual safety” concerns to the resort.

CDOT reports that a traffic impact study was conducted by Copper in 2007. From that study, Copper then explored and evaluated a potential roadway expansion and alternatives for intersections, seeking to address inbound and outbound skier traffic. 

Speaking on behalf of CDOT, Smith said several potential solutions were identified in the 2007 study that could help alleviate the traffic issues on both I-70 and Highway 91.

“CDOT has communicated to Copper Mountain that they should determine the best options to reduce interstate/highway backups and proceed with planning and funding,” Smith said.
“While any construction solution could be financially impactful, access permits require that the permittee (Copper Mountain) is solely responsible for the cost of design and construction of any roadway improvements required with the issuance of any access permit.”

A CDOT official said the agency will continue to collaborate with Copper Mountain to address the ongoing traffic concern and its impacts.

Mountain residents push for solutions to traffic jams

Most recently, Copper Mountain released its master development plan which is highlighted by a 500-acre ski terrain expansion, new lifts — including plans to build the highest chairlift in North America — and facility upgrades.

In relation to the Master Development Plan, the U.S. Forest Service recently accepted it, but there is currently no timeline for the projects outlined in the document.

Although the expansion is aimed at enhancing the guest experience at Copper, Wickstrom and Lake County commuter Sharzi Goharderakhshan were astonished to see that parking and traffic weren’t a main focus on the plan. 

“Leadville is important to the county, and quite a few friends of mine travel that route often enough that that is an important route for anyone working in Summit County,” Wickstrom said. “… I do not want to see any expansion of Copper until they have a better situation over there. It gets really backed up on a regular basis.”

In response to a question related to these concerns, Copper Mountain Resort shared some insight into why traffic wasn’t a main focus of its recently released master plan.

“All villages, base area operations and parking lots are located on private land and are therefore not addressed in the plan,” Copper Mountain Resort stated. “The only exception is the Far East Lot, which sits on U.S. Forest Service land and was recently expanded by 900 spaces in collaboration with the Forest Service.”

Goharderakhshan said while she may be commuting the opposite way of skier traffic in order to get to Summit County for work, she is still frequently impacted by traffic and accidents while on Highway 91. 

“I would say at least one to two times a month I am either late for work or I have to drive back to Leadville to take Highway 24,” Goharderakhshan said. “Sometimes, by then, Vail Pass is closed as well — at least twice a month (in the winter). This winter has been super mild, but I know last year we got a lot more snow, and it was almost every other week where there were multiple accidents a week or people driving off the road.”

Goharderakhshan does not necessarily know what the right solution is, but she agrees with Wickstrom that traffic has become normalized in the High Country.

“I love Leadville, and I want the community to thrive. But it feels like Summit County’s problems are kind of just spilling over into our town,” Goharderakhshan said. “… Maybe if there was somewhere more affordable so people wouldn’t have to drive an hour each way, sometimes with snow, to get to the ski resorts. I feel like there is no real simple answer.”