Berthoud Pass back currently open after avalanches, some Colorado travelers still hoping to avoid hours-long detour
Highway 40 over Berthoud Pass is currently back open after closing due to safety concerns following an avalanche that buried some vehicles over the weekend. Officials with the Colorado Department of Transportation said the heavy snow that's been falling this week led to two more snow slides on Tuesday and that the closure of the highway -- which started on Sunday -- would remain in place for a while longer as the substantial snow-clearing effort continues.
Visitors in areas like Winter Park and Fraser are facing a major detour if they want to get back to Interstate 70. They have to drive through Grand County to Highway 9 and south to Silverthorne in Summit County.
Olivia Dixon is one of the many people currently visiting Grand County and she said on Tuesday that she's waiting for the highway to reopen.
"We are hoping it will clear up in the next couple of days and that I won't have to take the long way around, but we will see," said Dixon who lives in Arkansas and needs to get to Denver International Airport to fly home.
Eva Curtis had the same sentiment on Tuesday. She's a student at Colorado State University and is trying to get back to Northern Colorado.
"I'm considering it tomorrow morning if the pass isn't open," Curtis said.
CDOT officials said they know people are waiting for the pass to open up and know how important the stretch is to be able to drive through. They say they've brought as many crew members as they can safely utilize on the pass to clear snow and make sure it's going to be safe when it is finally reopened.
Some crews on Tuesday were launching snow on top of snowbanks alongside the pass to try to relieve avalanche potential.
CDOT announced Wednesday morning that I-70 Vail Pass was closed in both directions from Vail to Copper Mountain for winter maintenance work. Drivers were encouraged to take the southern alternate route via US 24 & CO 9.
