Latest round of snow closes US 24 in eastern El Paso County for third straight day
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- After poor driving conditions shut down US 24 for several hours on Wednesday and Thursday, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) did so again Friday because of weather conditions.
CDOT announced the closure at around 8 a.m. Friday, between Constitution Avenue near Colorado Springs, to Ramah near the east side of the county line.
However, a CDOT official at the scene said that the closure actually crosses into another CDOT region, and that region has extended the closure farther east to Limon -- for a total length of 73 miles.
Wind-driven snow started to accumulate on the highway at dawn, making the pavement slick in some areas and reducing visibility; traffic moved slowly and steadily past several vehicles still stuck in ditches from storms earlier in the week.
US 24 has three closure gates in the area: At the Woodmen Road and Constitution Avenue intersections, and at the east end of Calhan near the east side of the county line.
CDOT closed the highway from Falcon to Limon for five hours on Wednesday -- from late morning to early afternoon -- and shut it down for a similar time period on Thursday.
US 24 is a major travel route between Interstate 25 in Colorado Springs and Interstate 70 Limon; the closures this week have frustrated truckers, drivers traveling to and from other states, and even residents trying to reach homes nearby.
The highway shutdown surprised several travelers who scrambled to make other plans.
"I'm a welder who was here for a job this week," said Jason Evans, who lives in Georgia. "I'd rather hurry up and get back home, instead of spending money on another hotel and stay overnight. If they had snow like this at home, they'd shut everything down.
Jennifer Vaughn, of Tennessee, was heading home after picking up her son in Washington state.
"We got turned around about an hour up the road, and were told that we could not make it up to (Interstate) 70, and that 70 was closed," she recalled. "So, we're trying to get back to some sort of civilization and figure out where and how we're getting home from here."
By early afternoon, much of the snow and ice accumulation on the highway had melted, but CDOT expected more snow later in the day; the agency didn't say when the highway would reopen.
Two drivers actually hit the closure gates in unsuccessful attempts to drive through the roadblock; an official manning the checkpoint at Constitution said that one driver apparently could't see the gates through the windshield.
CDOT spokesperson Amber Shipley said that the agency has 20 plows working in El Paso County, but has to spread them out becase of so much snow in the area.
"Each of those plows is out trying to keep their section of road clean," she explained. "So, you know, it's just a constant rotation and we can't dedicate ten plows to one section of road. We have to make sure that all the roads are getting attention. So, it's it's definitely a challenge."
