Traffic through Interstate 25 ‘Gap’ put in deep freeze by Friday snowstorm

Heavy snow in northern El Paso County and southern Douglas County created hazardous conditions for Friday’s travelers on Interstate 25.

Multiple crashes were reported, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. CDOT reported that one crash on I-25 near the Greenland exit had various lanes blocked as of 11 a.m. Friday. The commercial chain law is in place between mile markers 159 and 167.

Several semitrailers were stuck on northbound I-25 near Monument Hill, and all lanes were blocked as of 11:50 a.m. Traffic began moving again slowly by about 12:10 p.m. Another messy area a few miles south near Baptist Road brought traffic to a crawl.

Brad Bauer, a CDOT supervisor, confessed that the storm caught crews by surprise.

“We weren’t expecting this much,” he said. “We thought we’d get just a couple of inches all day, which would have only caused wet roads. But we got 3 to 4 inches in less than an hour. And most of it affected the Palmer Divide area.”

Bauer said crews would be out on a full call-out overnight.

The Colorado Springs Police Department said the city is on accident alert. That means if nobody’s injured and all vehicles are legal, drivers should exchange information and report the crash later.

Adverse conditions with high winds were reported between Northgate Boulevard and County Line Road. Poor visibility and icy, snow-packed conditions were common between Monument and Castle Rock, the 20-mile narrow stretch of I-25 known as the Gap.

The Gap is currently being widened from two to three lanes in each direction to ease traffic impacts caused by severe weather and crashes.

Many drivers began exiting I-25 well south of Monument Hill, hoping to detour around the traffic congestion.

High wind advisories were also put in place between the Colorado/New Mexico border and mile marker 52, near Walsenburg. High-profile vehicles should be wary of wind gusts.

Keep up with our traffic map to plan detours and see where slowdowns occur by clicking HERE.

Follow the weather updates on KRDO NewsChannel 13 or by clicking HERE.