Tips for mountain driving on I-70 (Denver, Grand Junction: condos, gym, floors)

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by roadchecker

I would like to know what the road conditions are on I 70 from St George to Grand Junction and onward to Denver around April 1st. I am leaving Palm Springs heading east and don't know if this route is enjoyable at this time. Any input would be appreciated.

Could be clear and dry the whole way, or a winter driving nightmare on the passes--either is absolutely possible. Things will be starting to green up at the lower elevations, but the higher elevations will either still be snowcovered or will be brown where the snow has melted. Above about 6,000 ft. elevation, you will see no leafed out trees at all. Weekend traffic can be a beast between Glenwood Springs and Denver if the ski areas are still open--in the I-70 corridor, it is likely that they will be this year. If so, avoid that stretch from Friday afternoon until Monday morning--especially if there is winter weather afoot in the mountains.

[DOUBLE H]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Could be clear and dry the whole way, or a winter driving nightmare on the passes--either is absolutely possible. Things will be starting to green up at the lower elevations, but the higher elevations will either still be snowcovered or will be brown where the snow has melted. Above about 6,000 ft. elevation, you will see no leafed out trees at all. Weekend traffic can be a beast between Glenwood Springs and Denver if the ski areas are still open--in the I-70 corridor, it is likely that they will be this year. If so, avoid that stretch from Friday afternoon until Monday morning--especially if there is winter weather afoot in the mountains.

Agreed! A couple notes regarding Utah.

St. George to Cedar City is around 50 miles, you climb nearly 3000 ft. The elevation from Cedar City to the I-70 exit (Cove Fort) is generally around 5500 ft. When you get on I-70, after 5 miles you start climbing to a little over 7000 ft. Most storms in early April are rain but on I-70 it CAN snow. You have two towns 15 miles apart from each other- Salina and Richfield. Richfield's elevation is 6472 ft. If the roads get too sloppy just get a room in Richfield and let Utah's highway dept do their thing. Why? Because from Salina to Green River you have 110 miles of no services--no gas stations, no restaurants, no small towns. Utah's highway people do a great job.

You DO have a couple rest stops off the interstate. On that high desert the elevation is around 7000 ft. for about a 50 mile stretch and I've seen the interstate closed overnight in late March from a storm. And don't be surprised about no cell service in that 100 mile stretch in certain places. You DO have some amazing scenery for about 50 miles. When you come down off the high point, you'll drop 2000 ft. in three miles with lots of turns. In a couple stretches the speed drops to 45 m.p.h. Don't do 50-the road is patrolled. Don't be surprised when you see a series of blue signs regarding "drowsy drivers." It's a long stretch and can get a little monotonous. I've gotten tired myself, get out of the car and move around a little.

After you get past Green River it's close to 100 miles to Grand Junction and services are limited until you get to the Fruita exit. I was just on the road last week and from Green River to Grand Junction there was no road construction going on. But there will be soon enough.

Be safe! Good luck to you.

[Neditate]

For road/travel conditions in Utah:
Phone: 24-hour automated road condition information can be accessed using any Utah-based phone by simply dialing 511. Outside Utah, you can access the same information by dialing toll-free 866-511-UTAH (8824).
Online: The traffic website is maintained 24-hours a day, 7 days a week by operators in the UDOT Traffic Operations Center (TOC). They continually monitor statewide traffic and weather conditions and post the information on www.udot.utah.gov/traffic


In Colorado CDOT will have all the info you need:
Road Conditions, Speeds, Travel Times, Traffic Cameras, Live Streaming Traffic Cameras, Road Closures and Road Work Information provided by Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) a branch of Colorado Department of Transportation
You can also call 511 here.

[jazzlover]

Also, daily freezing and thawing in spring can cause both snowslides and rockslides in abundance. Particularly in DeBeque Canyon east of Grand Junction, Glenwood Canyon east of Glenwood Springs and around Georgetown, there are some very rockslide prone areas on I-70.

Agreed.

Sometime next month there will be some delays going through DeBeque Canyon, the last few Springs there have been some close calls regarding rockslides. I believe it was two years ago at this time a series of slides came through and there was one boulder tumbling down that was so big it literally pushed a single axle tamdem dump truck off the interstate and that truck laid over on its slide.

It was just last month that a 150 ft. stretch of State Highway 65 got buried by a rock slide near the town of Mesa. 65 exits east in the middle of DeBeque canyon. The road was shut down to west bound travel for 5 days. Yenter Construction is tops in this state regarding rock remediation and those boys will be certainly be busy this Spring and summer!

[roadchecker]

roadchecker;

Thank you all for your valuable alerts and information. I have opted to take an alternate route from Palm Springs home using the I 10 through Phoenix. I don't want to take a chance through the mountains . I would imagine the scenery at this time of year is somewhat limited and, as a result, not worth the hassle. Besides, back home there will still be cold and snow so I want to stay in the warmer weather as long as possible. Thanks again

[JD401]

Originally Posted by COflower

July is pretty tame up there...just don't run off the road from the scenery you will meet.

I've driven that stretch so much in my life it's easy. Eastbound I-70 over Vail Pass sucks any vehicle to its limits so be aware. Unless you have a truck like I had, limit yourself to about 40 miles an hour if a semi doesn't get in your way then you are running about 30 mph.

Oh and the trip through Utah is weird as heck. Plan your gas stops carefully. Utah has a lot of places where gas is not available! If I can pull out my trip plans from 2003, I will post where the best places are to get gas or rest. But be informed that you can go for a long, long time before you see a gas station in UT.

I just did 40mph through Vail Pass in January when a storm came through and they closed it down behind me. 40mph in July and you're going to get run off the road.

[JD401]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

I had to drive I-70 frequently between Grand Junction and Denver for years. Personally, I would rather take a beating than drive that road, just because of the frequently nasty traffic, and the constant stream of idiot drivers that seem especially attracted to that highway. Nor is the near constant "resort suburbia" from about Edwards all the way to Silvethorne very attractive, either. I use longer, but slower alternative routes if I have any choice. As far as I'm concerned, I-70 is a blight on the Colorado landscape--much nicer when it wasn't there--which I can remember . . .

It's an interstate. Faster travel i.e more heavily used then. I've driven that same drive several times in the last couple of months at various times. Never had any major issues with traffic. Frankly, I think the drive is kind of nice, with some majestic scenery along the way.

I'm glad there will at least be one less car on the road though during my travels

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by JD401

I've driven that same drive several times in the last couple of months at various times. Never had any major issues with traffic.

Well, that's probably about 698 fewer times than I've driven it in the last 30+ years.

[JD401]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Well, that's probably about 698 fewer times than I've driven it in the last 30+ years.

One less car . . .

You had me at "resort suburbia."

We should just go back to horse and buggy.

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by roadchecker

I would like to know what the road conditions are on I 70 from St George to Grand Junction and onward to Denver around April 1st. I am leaving Palm Springs heading east and don't know if this route is enjoyable at this time. Any input would be appreciated.

Check the weather and the CDOT website. It can be dry as a bone or terrible. Some of the worst storms can be in March and April. However, storms clear out quickly. I was just hearing from some friends on facebook about being hung up at Vail Pass yesterday.