Take a ride as we drive from Vail to Denver Colorado on Interstate 70 / I-70 through a winter snow storm. I was white knuckling the steering wheel the whole time! The 4K drive starts in Vail Colorado and we pass by several major ski areas and other well known places including Copper Mountain, Loveland, Silverthorn and through the Eisenhower tunnel before reaching Denver.
00:00 Route / Map
00:04 Vail (I-70)
24:33 Vail Pass Summit
30:42 Copper Mountain (Leadville Exit)
38:00 Frisco (Breckenridge Exit)
46:36 Silverthorne / Dillon
57:14 Eisenhower Tunnel
59:51 Loveland
01:08:49 Silver Plume / Georgetown
01:14:55 Empire / Granby
01:15:41 Lawson
01:16:53 Downieville / Dumont
01:20:42 Idaho Springs
01:31:12 El Rancho / Evergreen
01:37:19 Golden
01:46:37 Approaching Denver
Filmed at the end of February 2024.
'The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) lists the construction of I-70 among the engineering marvels undertaken in the Interstate Highway System and cites four major accomplishments: the section through the Dakota Hogback, Eisenhower Tunnel, Vail Pass, and Glenwood Canyon. The Eisenhower Tunnel, with a maximum elevation of 11,158 feet (3,401 m) and length of 1.7 miles (2.7 km), is the longest mountain tunnel and highest point along the Interstate Highway System. The portion through Glenwood Canyon was completed on October 14, 1992. This was one of the final pieces of the Interstate Highway System to open to traffic and is one of the most expensive rural highways per mile built in the country. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) earned the 1993 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers for the completion of I-70 through the canyon.
I-70 follows the Eagle River toward Vail Pass, at an elevation of 10,666 feet (3,251 m). In this canyon, I-70 reaches the western terminus of US 24, which meanders through the Rockies before rejoining I-70. US 24 is known as the Highway of the Fourteeners, from the concentration of mountains exceeding 14,000 feet (4,300 m) along the highway corridor. Along the ascent, I-70 serves the ski resort town of Vail and the ski areas of Beaver Creek Resort, Vail Ski Resort, and Copper Mountain.
The construction of the freeway over Vail Pass is also listed as an engineering marvel. One of the challenges of this portion is the management of the wildlife that roams this area. Several parts of the approach to the pass feature large fences that prevent wildlife from crossing the freeway and direct the animals to one of several underpasses. At least one underpass is located along a natural migratory path and has been landscaped to encourage deer to cross.
The highway descends to Dillon Reservoir, near the town of Frisco, and begins one final ascent to the Eisenhower Tunnel, where the freeway crosses the Continental Divide. At the time of dedication, this tunnel was the highest vehicular tunnel in the world, at 11,158 feet (3,401 m). As of 2010, the facility was still the highest vehicular tunnel in the US. The Eisenhower Tunnel is noted as both the longest mountain tunnel and the highest point on the Interstate Highway System. The tunnel has a command center, staffed with 52 full-time employees, to monitor traffic, remove stranded vehicles, and maintain generators to keep the tunnel's lighting and ventilation systems running in the event of a power failure. Signals are placed at each entrance and at various points inside the tunnel to close lanes or stop traffic in an emergency. There are several active and former ski resorts in the vicinity of the tunnel, including Breckenridge Ski Resort, Keystone Resort, Arapahoe Basin, Loveland Ski Area, Berthoud Pass Ski Area, and Winter Park Resort.'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_70_in_Colorado
#drive #driving #snowstorm #colorado #i70