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CDOT repairing Glenwood Canyon guardrails damaged in tractor-trailer wrecks

Colorado Department of Transportation crews are entering their third week of work on sections of Interstate 70 guardrail that was damaged by a series of big rig wrecks.

Some sections of guardrail will be completely replaced. 

Several portions of the guardrail in the eastbound lanes were damaged in the crashes. In some cases, westbound trucks crashed so severely they tumbled into the lower eastbound lanes and damaged guardrails there, CDOT stated in a press release. 

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A crashed tractor-trailer on I-70 in Glenwood Canyon at mile marker on Oct. 12, 2022. Guardrail was damaged by the crash. The semi was traveling westbound. Colorado Department of Transportation

Lane closures will occur 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., beginning at mile marker 116.

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A crashed tractor-trailer on I-70 in Glenwood Canyon on April 12, 2022. Guardrail was damaged by the crash. The semi was traveling eastbound. Colorado Department of Transportation

CDOT's crews started the project April 2. 

RELATED  OVERNIGHT CLOSURE: 'Major' rollover crash shuts down eastbound I-70 through Glenwood Canyon (2021)

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A crashed tractor-trailer on I-70 in Glenwood Canyon at mile marker on May 28, 2021. Guardrail was damaged by the crash. The semi was traveling eastbound. Colorado Department of Transportation

Starting this week, CDOT crews are also closing single lanes of westbound traffic near Shoshone Power Plant exit (MM123). Above the highway there, crews will address areas of rockfall concern. Debris flows caused severe damage in the Blue Gulch drainage at that location in 2021, per CDOT.

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A crashed tractor-trailer vehicle on I-70 in Glenwood Canyon at mile marker 129 on July 21, 2022. Guardrail was damaged by the crash. The semi was traveling westbound. Colorado Department of Transportation

Both projects are expected to conclude by the end of the month, weather permitting. 

RELATED  Westbound lanes re-opened after tractor-trailer was dangling off Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon (2023)

Motorists can check real time lane closures and road conditions by using COtrip.org and the free smartphone COtrip Planner app.   

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A crashed tractor-trailer dangles from the westbound lanes of traffic into the lower deck of eastbound traffic on Jan. 30, 2023. A 28-year-old driver from New Jersey was cited for driving too fast for conditions following the accident.  Colorado Department of Transportation

Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon was completed in 1992. It is unique for the separate lanes of travel elevated above the terrain next to the Colorado River. The last 12-mile section cost almost half a million dollars. 

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