Major bridge construction on the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) I-70 Floyd Hill Project will require two overnight closures of westbound Interstate 70 near Idaho Springs in mid-December. The closures are scheduled from 9 p.m. Monday, December 15, to 5 a.m. Tuesday, December 16, and again from 9 p.m. Tuesday, December 16, to 5 a.m. Wednesday, December 17.
During these times, crews will build a temporary framework to support the construction of a concrete cast-in-place segmental bridge over live traffic on I-70. Once finished, this new bridge will carry westbound I-70 in a realigned path designed to improve safety and operations on the highway.
Traffic during the closure will be diverted as follows: westbound vehicles will merge into one lane and exit at the US 6 (Exit 244) off-ramp before turning left to access the US 6 (Exit 244) on-ramp and return to westbound I-70. Flaggers and uniformed traffic control personnel will be present at the interchange to guide drivers.
“All work is weather-dependent and subject to change,” according to CDOT. If inclement weather affects the schedule, closures may shift to Wednesday night, December 17, and Thursday night, December 18.
The project team has also announced that there will be no planned traffic impacts related to the Floyd Hill Project on either direction of I-70 from 6 a.m., Saturday, December 20 through 6 a.m., Monday, January 5, in consideration of increased holiday travel.
The Floyd Hill Project covers eight miles between west of Evergreen and eastern Idaho Springs. Major improvements include adding a third westbound Express Lane to relieve current bottlenecks; constructing an additional two-mile frontage road section; building an extended eastbound on-ramp for slow-moving vehicles; enhancing interchanges and intersections; improving sight distance; upgrading trails along Clear Creek Greenway; and making wildlife crossings safer.
Construction began in July 2023. The new alignment for I-70 is expected by 2028 with overall project completion anticipated in 2029.
For more information about the project or updates regarding schedules and closures, visit https://www.codot.gov/projects/i70floydhill or sign up for text alerts by texting “floydhill” to 21000.
