FLOYD HILL

“We know there aren’t any additional routes to get out of the community in case of an emergency like a wild re,” Kionka said of the Floyd Hill residential area. “ … We need to make sure you have emergency egress at all times.” e roundabouts will improve safety and tra c ow along U.S. 40, while the wildlife projects will create safer habitats for local fauna and reduce animal-related accidents.

What will I-70 look like by 2029?

Along with the U.S. 40 roundabouts, work is underway on the Genesee wildlife underpass, which should be completed by spring 2024. Additionally, the Empire wildlife overpass is still under design right now, but should be going out to bid in mid-August and then hopefully will be under construction by the end of 2023.

As for the overall Floyd Hill project, traveling westbound on I-70, crews will add a third westbound lane at the top of Floyd Hill. is full-time express lane will start near Homestead Road/Exit 247 and connect to the current mountain express lane near the Veterans Memorial Tunnels.

CDOT employees explained how an express lane is the best option because a third general-use lane would simply get congested.

Traveling down Floyd Hill on westbound I-70, the current bridge over U.S. 6 will be replaced and the curve straightened out into a canyon viaduct. e on-ramps from U.S. 6 onto I-70 will also be improved and lengthened to give slower-moving vehicles more room to merge.

Underneath I-70, crews will build the missing two-mile section of frontage road between Hidden Valley and U.S. 6. e project will also improve the current Clear Creek Greenway and install two permanent air quality monitors along the corridor.

Overall, CDOT o cials said, this project will improve motorists’ travel times, corridor safety, local recreation opportunities, wildlife connectivity and more.

Kionka emphasized how I-70 is the lifeblood of the county, along with “a critical route for moving goods and services … and a gateway to tourism and recreation.”

Clear Creek, Colorado and the country all count on this pivotal path through the mountains, he said, stressing how important these improvements are.

For more information, including how to sign up for email and text alerts about tra c impacts, visit codot.gov/projects/i70 oydhill.

REPAVING EASTBOUND I-70 FROM GEORGETOWN TO TUNNELS

Eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 from the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels to Georgetown will get some much-needed repaving later this summer.

The stretch from the tunnels to Bakerville has been added to the maintenance work already planned from Bakerville to Georgetown, according to Presley Fowler, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation. She estimated that the paving project would start in August.

CDOT recently learned it had access to additional funding to help with road maintenance after the harsh winter. She said the eastbound lanes would only be repaved because they’re the ones in the biggest need for work.

CDOT just completed emergency bridge work over Loveland Pass to fill in potholes that appeared, again thanks to the harsh winter.