DENVER — The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is urging drivers to be patient on the roads over the next two weeks as spring break brings an influx of out-of-town travelers to the mountains, increasing traffic along the Interstate 70 mountain corridor.
Winter weather on Sunday also brought blowing snow and icy conditions to roads, causing headaches for some drivers. Colorado State Patrol (CSP) said troopers operating in Clear Creek and Jefferson counties responded to seven crashes on I-70 between Milepost 220 to Milepost 250 on Sunday.
Tanner Hinote, who lives in Silver Plume, said it took him more than two and a half hours to get to the Eisenhower- Johnson Memorial Tunnel on Sunday.
"Traffic was completely stopped going westbound," Hinote said. "Then going down, it was terrible, because nobody knows how to drive properly in the mountains."
On Sunday, more than 900 flights going in and out of the Denver International Airport were delayed while 141 flights were canceled, according to Flight Aware.
DIA said Friday, March 20 and Sunday, March 22 will be the busiest upcoming days for travel because of the spring break travel rush. Airport officials said security lines can be longer, especially during peak times from 3 a.m. to 4:30 a.m., 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Catelin Farrington, who was catching a flight to Orlando, said her flight was delayed several hours on Sunday.
"Our flight was supposed to take off like now, but we're delayed until about eight o'clock," Farrington said. "Security looks fine. It's a lot better than other airports."
The travel rush comes as Transportation Security Administration agents are working without pay because of the continued U.S. Department of Homeland Security funding lapse. TSA agents will receive back pay once the government shutdown ends, but in the meantime, DIA is collecting grocery store and gas gift card donations for TSA workers. As of Friday night, airport officials said people have donated 271 gift cards.
While CDOT is warning about more traffic during spring break, data shows there were 58,000 fewer cars that went through Eisenhower Tunnel in January and February this year compared to last year.
