LOVELAND, Colo. (CBS4)– Loveland Pass may reopen on Thursday after being closed since Sunday. A combination of strong winds and blowing snow created dangerous driving conditions.
“So we closed at noon on Sunday. We had some adverse weather up there, high winds and extremely low visibility and unfortunately crews have not been able to get up there due to the wind restrictions,” said Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Crystal Morgan. “We’re looking at probably reopening, at least getting out there to assess, early tomorrow morning.”
Loveland Pass on Sunday (credit: CBS)
That nearly 96-hour closure along Loveland Pass has put a burden on travelers along Interstate 70.
“They told us to try I-70 and now we came up here and we got a hazmat load but Loveland Pass is closed,” said truck driver Brent Mendenhall.
Trucks carrying hazardous materials wait for the top the hour to pass through the Eisenhower Tunnel for safety reasons.
One trucker talked to CBS4 and said that he is transporting materials so dangerous that he can’t drive through the tunnel at all.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do after that because we can’t get through on I-80 and can’t get through here,” said Mendenhall. “I’ve been driving nine years and I’ve never seen this.”
The total snowfall in that area since Saturday is about two feet. Crews are conducting avalanche mitigation in the area in hopes of preventing snowslides in unstable areas of snowpack.
