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Semitrailers and other commercial vehicles are about to be prohibited from traveling in the left lane on several treacherous sections of Interstate 70 through Colorado’s high country under a bipartisan bill passed by the legislature Wednesday.
Senate Bill 100, which is awaiting the governor’s signature, would enact the prohibition starting in August for Floyd Hill, Georgetown Hill, Vail Pass, Dowd Junction near Minturn, Glenwood Canyon and near the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels. The only exception is for when a commercial vehicle driver is “specifically required or authorized to pass by law.”
The original version of the measure would have applied to the stretch of I-70 between Morrison and Glenwood Springs, but it was pared back after the trucking industry voiced concerns.
Senate Bill 100 would also increase penalties for commercial vehicle drivers who speed through Glenwood Canyon and add a list of mountain routes to the areas where truckers and people driving other commercial vehicles that weigh more than 16,000 pounds must carry chains between Sept. 1 and May 31. Those routes include Colorado 9 between Frisco and Fairplay, U.S. 40 west of Empire, U.S. 50 west of Salida, U.S. 160 west of Walsenburg, U.S. 285 west of Morrison and U.S. 550 from Ridgway to the New Mexico border.
Semitrailers already must carry chains between Sept. 1 and May 31 on I-70 between the interstate’s Morrison exit and Dotsero. Senate Bill 100 would increase the requirement to any part of I-70 in Colorado west of the Morrison exit.
Finally, the legislation would require the Colorado Department of Transportation to study locations on I-70 through the mountains where additional chain-up and chain-down stations can be built, as well as how to improve existing stations. CDOT would also under the bill be forced to study whether mountain routes should be closed to commercial vehicles for limited times during snowstorms.
Polis hasn’t committed to signing the bill, but the measure was supported by his administration, which is a strong indication he will make it law.
Eastbound traffic on Interstate 70 inside Glenwood Canyon, March 12, 2024, near Glenwood Springs. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)
The bill’s main sponsors were Sens. Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco, and Perry Will, R-New Castle, and Reps. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs, and Rick Taggart, R-Grand Junction. Supporters of the measure see it as a way to cut down on crashes and road closures in the mountains.
The Colorado Motor Carriers Association, the trucking industry trade group originally skeptical of the bill, ended up supporting the legislation after it was amended.
Colorado’s legislative session ends May 8.
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