Safety concerns resurface after recent semi-truck crash in Glenwood Canyon
Colorado Department of Transportation/Courtesy photo
A semi-truck crash in Glenwood Canyon on Tuesday has again put safety in the spotlight on Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon. The accident, which occurred around 9:30 a.m., happened approximately six miles east of Glenwood Springs near mile marker 122.
According to Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Regional Communications Manager Lisa Schwantes, the truck was traveling westbound carrying plastic crates and wood pallets when it crashed through and damaged about 200 feet of guardrail, landing on the eastbound lanes about 25 feet below. The crash resulted in closures in both directions.
Westbound lanes re-opened after about two hours, while eastbound lanes were closed for more than six hours, causing a traffic backup of about four miles, according to Schwantes. Shortly after 9 p.m. that day, the left lane heading eastbound re-opened, but the right lane remained closed.
Colorado State Patrol Public Information Officer Sherri Mendez provided further details.
“The driver was taken to the hospital and issued a citation,” Mendez said, also noting that the eastbound lanes were expected to remain closed until around 7 p.m. She said the reason for citation was not provided.
Tuesday’s accident adds to a history of semi-truck incidents on I-70 and in Glenwood Canyon leading up to the passage earlier this year of lane restrictions and additional measures to reduce semi crashes along the stretch of interstate.
In response to the frequency of such crashes, Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill in May that restricts semi-trailers from using the left lane in high-risk areas of I-70. The areas include Glenwood Canyon, Dowd Junction, Vail Pass, Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels, Georgetown Hill, and Floyd Hill. The law, which took effect in August, aims to reduce accidents involving large commercial vehicles in these notoriously dangerous sections of the highway.
Such wrecks still occur but have decreased in frequency since January 2023, when the canyon was the site of six separate wrecks involving commercial vehicles.
This summer, a similar rollover occurred in June, which took place at mile marker 112 between New Castle and Glenwood Springs. The accident closed the eastbound lanes for over five hours, though it did not occur within Glenwood Canyon.
In August, a semi-truck rollover accident in Wheat Ridge resulted in the deaths of three people and injured two others.
Schwantes said investigators are still determining the cause of Tuesday’s crash.
“We are currently unaware what the cause of the accident was, or if the driver was traveling in the left lane,” she said.
Drivers affected by the Tuesday crash were advised to take the northern alternate route starting at Rifle. The route follows Colorado Highway 13 to Craig, continues along US Highway 40 to Steamboat Springs, and heads south on Colorado Highway 9 to Silverthorne, where travelers can rejoin I-70.
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