IDAHO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Colorado Department of Transportation is figuring out ways to ease traffic congestion on the Interstate 70 mountain corridor.
The small town of Idaho Springs is seeing big changes. CDOT plans to add a westbound express lane using the shoulder lane. A similar one was put in place heading east from Empire to Idaho Springs in 2015. CDOT says more changes will happen in the future.
"I understand the traffic is a problem, as someone who is driving to and from; I live locally," said Taylor Geltmaker.
Geltmaker runs her family business that sits right below the sharp I-70 curve. She said she's following all the CDOT concept plans closely as some of the ideas may impact her business.
"It takes away everything we've been working toward, but we hope if it does do that, we're going to relocate and try to build back what they took away," Geltmaker said.
CDOT is looking to make capacity and interchange improvements starting from Floyd Hill to Empire going west. A CDOT spokesperson said they're looking at all the possible options right now and gathering community input.
"It's essential for I-70 to be expanded to have improvements to keep up with the economy and keep up with the population growth," said Stacia Sellers.
She said CDOT tries to avoid relocating homes and business in every project.
CDOT plans to hold a public meeting in June. No date has been set yet.
Denver7 will keep you posted once CDOT picks a date and location.
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