Eternal Traffic Going Into 2022

Vivian Hua, Copy Editor

As we drive onto the freeway on I-25, ready to continue our daily lives, traffic is a common problem for all of us living near Denver. It’ll continue to be a nuisance with Denver’s expansion as express lane projects and continuous crashes are taking over the interstate, adding onto the growing list of road problems for Denver Metro drivers.

Spreading from Castle Rock and further south 18 miles towards Monument, a construction project known as “The Gap” will include numerous projects.

The Gap will be adding express lanes (or toll lanes) in each direction of the interstate, replacing four aging bridges and widening four other bridges, according to the Denver Post and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). Investments from CDOT, the counties of El Paso and Douglas, the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority, and a federal grant from Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) total up to $350 million for this project.

This project has long been overdue as the increase in population over the years has also led to an increase in crashes, congestion, and delays. Making matters worse, this is the only four-lane section on I-25 that connects the two largest cities of Colorado: Denver and Colorado Springs.

Beginning in September 2018, the project won’t be finished until late 2021, with toll testing continuing into early 2022.

During construction hours, it is advised to expect slower speed limits (current speeds being around 65 mph), nighttime lane closures, narrower lanes, and construction trucks entering and exiting the work zone. However, two lanes of traffic will still be free for those using the road in the day.

Further north, express lanes will also be added from 120th Avenue to Northwest Parkway E-470. CDOT has been consulting with Hamon Infrastructure since the summer of 2016, and will continue to do so until the winter of 2019 to build these lanes.

Costing less than The Gap, this project will amount to $97.5 million. There may be some road closures during the day, but they won’t be very frequent.

As if road work wasn’t hectic enough, car crashes have also been a major problem. There have been at least three crashes on I-25 in the last few months of 2018, two of which were near Dacono.

On October 16, a crash caused traffic for 90 minutes. Thankfully, lanes were finally reopened at 5:50 PM, which helped put an end to the traffic.

In a single vehicle rollover on September 3, a 64-year-old man was killed.

A crash on November 15 at about 11:30 AM, between Exit 220 for Thornton Parkway and Exit 221 for 104th Avenue. The crash resulted in the blockage of the right lanes. Four students from Horizon High School were involved, with only minor injuries from the incident.

Joshua Smith, a sophomore involved in the crash, explains, “The mental health effects are more impactful [than the physical injuries]. One thing we all took away from this is to be more cautious and more aware of our surroundings when driving.”

From road work to accidents, in order for us to deal with as little traffic as possible, make sure to drive at slower speeds when entering construction zones, be aware of your surroundings at all times, and always put safety above all else. Since construction won’t be disappearing until 2022, we should put an end to car accidents now.