A major multiyear infrastructure project on Interstate 70 is set to enter its next phase this fall — and motorists should expect more of the same traffic impacts that have been ongoing since work began last year. 

Dubbed the Floyd Hill project, the initiative, led by the Colorado Department of Transportation, targets an 8-mile stretch of highway between Evergreen and Idaho Springs, long a pain point for traffic congestion and safety. 

The plan, which could be completed by late 2028, seeks to add a new westbound toll lane, build an extended on-ramp from U.S. Highway 6 onto eastbound I-70 and reorient a roughly 1-mile stretch of east and westbound highway with a completely new section of road. It also calls for straightening existing curves to improve motorists’ sight, rebuilding damaged bridges, enhancing wildlife connectivity and installing two permanent air quality monitors.

Last summer, the transportation department began the first of the project’s three phases, focusing on the roadway’s east section, which runs from County Road 65 at Exit 248 to the bottom of Floyd Hill near Evergreen. 

In that time, crews have removed about 97,000 tons of material through rock blasting, said project communications lead Stacia Sellers, who added, “We’ve been making great progress.”

Curves along that stretch of I-70 have plagued motorists’ line of sight, leading to slow-downs and accidents that have resulted in closures, Sellers said. These problems are especially acute near the bottom of Floyd Hill, where downhill motorists must contend with curves and a two-lane highway where traffic can bottleneck.

Straightening roads in the east section were also done to help pave the way for a third westbound travel lane. The lane is set to be a full-time, tolled express lane stretching from Homestead Road at Exit 247, through the Veterans Memorial Tunnels and to Colorado Boulevard/Idaho Springs at Exit 241. 

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Rock removal efforts did lead to occasional daytime traffic holds between 20 and 45 minutes as well as temporary lane shifts along that section of highway. While that work has concluded for the project’s east section, Sellers said rock blasting will soon begin in the central section, which spans the middle of Floyd Hill to Exit 243 for Hidden Valley/Central City Parkway. 

“So you’ll see the same type of traffic holds” for that area, Sellers said. 

Work on the central section is expected to begin after Labor Day, with the majority of rock blasting taking place Monday through Thursday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Traffic will likely be stopped six times per day on average during operations and motorists should be prepared for traffic holds every 60 to 75 minutes, Sellers said. 

“That will be pretty impactful for folks and will take place over the next couple of years,” Sellers said. 

Work is not expected to take place during weekends, something Sellers said was done to minimize traffic impacts as much as possible during peak travel periods. 

According to CDOT communications director for statewide programs Bob Wilson, the stretch of I-70 that includes the Floyd Hill project sees roughly 50,000 vehicles on average daily. 

Specifically, in 2022, a traffic count station east of the Idaho Springs exit reported 55,000 average daily vehicles. Wilson said stations near the Highway 6 exit and the top of Floyd Hill reported 53,000 and 47,000, respectively. 

Further west at the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels, I-70’s gateway to ski country in Summit and Eagle counties, daily traffic counts are lower but still high. 

According to transportation department traffic count data, daily averages for vehicles across both east and westbound tunnels ranged from 29,000 to 43,000 in 2023. In total that year, nearly 13 million vehicles passed through either the east or westbound tunnel. That’s a roughly 19% increase in tunnel traffic over the past 10 years, with data showing there were 10,894,957 motorists in 2013.

“I-70 is always busy now no matter what season during the weekends,” Sellers said. “We’re seeing an increase of tourism going up the mountains, so we’re trying to be mindful of not doing construction that will impact that.”

Once work on the Floyd Hill project’s central section begins this fall, all three sections of the project will be under construction concurrently. The west section, which spans from the Hidden Valley interchange at Exit 243 to Idaho Springs Exit 241, saw work begin this past spring. 

“That’s when crews shifted traffic to the outside shoulders to begin working in the median. So folks might be feeling that a little bit,” Sellers said. 

Work on the west and central sections is expected to be ongoing until 2028, while the east section, the first to start, could be completed by mid-2026. 

Of the three segments of highway, the central section, once finished, is set to be the most visually different, Sellers said. 

The transportation department plans to build a new, mile-long portion of east and westbound I-70 between Exit 244 for Blackhawk/Golden and Exit 243 for the Hidden Valley/Central City interchange. The new construction will be adjacent to the existing road, which will later be demolished. 

When work began last year, the Floyd Hill project was estimated to cost $700 million, $100 million of which came in the form of federal funding as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — more commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The remaining $600 million is from state funding. 

Sellers said the project “like many projects across the nation, has been impacted by inflation, supply chain issues and labor shortages” that may cause its budget to grow. 

While Sellers said she could not provide a new estimate, she added, “We’re still working on designer refinements that could bring down costs and trying to find available funding sources, which are still evolving.”

Motorists planning to travel through the Floyd Hill project section of I-70 are encouraged to check for daily travel updates on CDOT’s CoTrip website at Tinyurl.com/CDOTFloydHill. Motorists can also sign up for updates by texting ‘floydhill’ to 21000. More information about the project can be found at CDOT.gov/projects/i70floydhill.