Study predicts mixed results for "zipper" lane on I-70 during Sunday ski season
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- Created on Thursday, 26 August 2010 20:20
- Written by Nathan
By JEFFREY LEIB, THE DENVER POST
Adding a reversible "zipper" lane to eastbound Interstate 70 in the mountains would cut peak-hour Sunday evening commutes in the winter from 91 minutes to 46 minutes between Silver Plume and the El Rancho exit, according to initial results of a state study.
But travel in the single remaining westbound lane during the same window would jump from 35 minutes to 79 minutes, the Colorado Department of Transportation study found.
CDOT has spent about $170,000 looking at the feasibility of adding movable barriers to the 15-mile stretch of I-70 between a point just east of Georgetown and the base of Floyd Hill.
While the movable barrier would be in place for about 15 miles, travel-time results were measured for a full 25-mile distance that included 5 miles added to each end of the barrier-separated section of the highway.
That's because putting a reversible-lane system in place will affect traffic flows for some distance on each end of the barrier-separated lanes, said Tony DeVito, the CDOT regional director who has responsibility for this section of I-70.
The study looked at the possibility of installing the reversible lane on I-70 during busy summer travel periods but found that only on winter Sundays is there enough of a directional imbalance between eastbound and westbound traffic to justify taking a lane heading one direction and reversing it to create three lanes.
On Sundays in winter, the peak-hour traffic volume for the 25-mile stretch between the Silver Plume and El Rancho exits is 3,161 vehicles an hour eastbound and 1,893 vehicles westbound, according to the study.
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