$700 million Interstate 70 Floyd Hill construction project begins soon

If you're heading anywhere west of Evergreen this summer on Interstate 70, you'll likely want to read this.

The Floyd Hill Project is scheduled to start construction on the east portion right after July 4, shifting lanes but theoretically not slowing traffic any more than usual. 

The entire idea is to eliminate the bottleneck effect on the 8 mile section from the top of Floyd Hill until just past the Veterans Memorial Tunnels by adding an express (toll) lane and updating bridges as well as building out the corner at the bottom of the hill so vehicles can safely take the corner faster. 

20 minute traffic holds will take place starting in August when crews begin blowing up the sidewall in the canyon to widen the stretch, but aside from those once or twice-a-week occurrences, most of the work is expected to be completed during overnight/non-peak traffic times minimizing the effect it has on drivers maneuvering through an already difficult stretch of mountain interstate.

"Growing up in Colorado and being a lifelong skier, I love being a part of this project and addressing something that has been needed for a long time here," said Kurt Kionka, I-70 Floyd Hill project director. 

Another big aspect of the project will be improving the raised interstate sections that were built back in the 1960s, bringing those into the modern age. 

Kionka assured Wilson the road is in no way unsafe to drive, but it is falling apart as the years go by and it's time to bring it back to the latest standards. 

The project is cut into three sections and timelines, which include an east, west and central portion. 

The east section will start in June of 2023 and carry into spring of 2026, going from just past the top of Floyd Hill until about halfway down the hill. 

The west will begin in the fall of 2023 and carry on into 2027, starting just before the Veteran Memorial tunnels and going to the first exit of Idaho Springs. 

The central portion (or the big kahuna as we call it) will start fall of 2024 and carry into 2028, beginning from halfway down the hill and continuing until the Veteran Memorial tunnels. 

That piece alone will account for two-thirds of the cost of the $700 million project. 

Kevin Stiffler, a local who lives up in the mountains, believes that's money well spent. 

"Change is the only constant, right?" Stiffler said. "Our population isn't getting any smaller, it is only growing. They did a similar approach in Glenwood Canyon and that worked really well so why wouldn't it work here?"

He knows what it's like to get stuck at the top of the hill for hours at a time. 

"As a parent of a young one, it is like, how fast can I get the iPad, the snacks, the entertainment out, right?" Stiffler laughed. "It seems like they are addressing it... but it is like 'tick tock.'"

The project has a scheduled completion date of 2028.