Sun glare closures on Interstate 70 in Colorado? Yes, that's a thing.
You know about the snow closures on Colorado highways, you know about the traffic holds, you even know about the construction on Floyd Hill. What else could go wrong?!
Well, the sun.
The Colorado Department of Transportation is reminding drivers headed eastbound that there will be closures depending on conditions during the sunrise because of intense glare along Floyd Hill. The expected start for those closures -- which include detours through Clear Creek Canyon and along the frontage road, which backs up pretty quickly -- ranges from sunrise (currently 6:30 a.m.) to 8:30 a.m. Each closure lasts an estimated 45 minutes to an hour.
Idaho Springs resident Graham Knight said he knows why they have to close it, even when CDOT didn't always close the road in the past.
"There is a lot of people who think it's silly to close the road," Knight said. "I'm telling you, they have not experienced the full blast of that sun glare. You just go from driving down the interstate at 70 MPH or whatever the speed limit is to suddenly not being able to see anything."
While CDOT also recommends utilizing sunglasses to help with visibility during those early morning hours, Knight said nothing could help drivers see through that optimized glare from the hill grade and sunrise position.
"All you see is a white orb and you can't see any of the traffic in front of you," Knight said. He is hopeful some of that weakness is addressed with the recent construction along the hill but isn't holding his breath.
Tuesday, as your reporter in the mountains Spencer Wilson went to check out the possibility of a closure, he saw one. Cars and semi-trucks lined up along the frontage road (US 40), which Knight said, honestly isn't worth your time.
"If you don't get up that detour quickly, you are better off just staying at the bottom and waiting for them to reopen," Knight explained. "Can't tell you how many times I've waited for them to reopen and I'm driving by a two-mile traffic jam on the detour while all those poor people are stuck."
The closures tend to range from November to February and are weather and condition-dependent.
