DENVER — Drivers headed into downtown Denver Wednesday morning say they want answers after an overturned piece of construction equipment caused hours of delays on southbound Interstate 25.
“I read a book. It was that slow,” said Rose Ibarbo.
It turned the morning commute into a traffic nightmare.
“I was stuck at dead stop traffic for almost an hour and almost no way to get off the highway,” said Tayler Peterson. “I wish I had known it was coming. I would have taken another way.”
A shuttle buggy that transfers hot asphalt into a paver flipped on its side near Park Avenue around 4:30 a.m., bringing southbound I-25 down to just one lane into downtown Denver, causing more than two-hour delays for some.
The buggy — used as part of the I-25 repaving project — is a heavy, boxy piece of equipment weighing approximately 80,000 pounds, making it a challenge to move, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Peterson told Denver7 she was driving to work from Greeley when she got caught in the mess with no warning.
Denver7 Traffic
Overturned piece of construction equipment causes lengthy delays on SB I-25
“There was nothing until about, I don't know, a minute and a half away from one of the signs on the highway that said that there was an issue around 20th Street. And then all of a sudden, I was stuck in it,” she said.
The equipment was moved off the highway around 12:23 p.m. Wednesday, approximately eight hours after it first fell. After righting the shuttle buggy and towing it away, CDOT stated that crews had to clean up some of the hydraulic fluid that leaked from the equipment.
Denver7 went in search of answers for you. We reached out to CDOT multiple times to inquire about the delay in issuing alerts.
CDOT sent us a late response, informing Denver7 that the information was posted on the COTrip app at approximately 6:16 a.m. and advised drivers to check the app for the most up-to-date traffic alerts and delays.
Drivers say a little more communication in the future would go a long way toward easing a painful commute.
“There are those big message boards. I think there's definitely a good use for those. Definitely just put a heads up of some sort, that there's a major setback, major slow down,” said Ibarbo.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.