I-70 In Eastern Colorado Reopens After 'Madhouse' Winds
LIMON, Colo. (CBS4/AP) — Interstate 70 in eastern Colorado reopened Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. after an eight-hour closure because of strong winds and blowing snow.
I-70 was closed between Limon and Goodland, Kansas, as wind gusts reached up to around 60 mph on the Eastern Plains.
"Sometimes you could see 50 yards, sometimes it was 10 yards," traveler Sue Getz said in Limon on her way from Kansas to Colorado Springs. "I'm just glad I'm almost to my destination."
Tuckers and motorists pulled over to the side of the interstate to shelter from the high winds.
"It was really windy out there. It was crazy, like a hurricane," trucker Morris Culb said. He was heading from Cheyenne to Tampa, Fla. "Truck was rocking. Wind was blowing. It was knocking off all the trash can tops. It was a madhouse. With 50 mph winds, I could easily tip over. Safety first. Nobody's life is worth getting out there and getting knocked around."
Rueben Archibeque manages the Flying J truck stop in Limon. He had no problem with the highway closure.
"When they close it down, the tuckers are here and you get a lot of business," he said.
To the west, blowing snow also kept U.S. Highway 285 from Fairplay to Kenosha Pass until the afternoon.
The Colorado Department of Transportation metered traffic at the Eisenhower Tunnel, which added 20 minutes to motorists' drives.
CDOT employed some 400 cameras at various locations, watching Colorado highways. Avalanche mitigation also shut down Red Mountain Pass, although the number of closures were as significant as Monday, when four feet of snow blanketed the mountains.
Crews still closed many roads as a precaution.
"Not as much today that we were having to since we were able to address a lot of it yesterday, but we continue to keep a very close eye on things," CDOT spokeswoman Amy Ford said. "For safety, we had the road shut down for the bulk of the day."
The volume of traffic is also slowing travelers headed into Colorado's mountains, although the delays at the Eisenhower Tunnel aren't as long as those seen in the morning.
Another round of snow is expected to move into Colorado on Christmas Day.
Meanwhile, Tuesday was expected to be the busiest day at Denver International Airport this Christmas week.
More than 166,000 passengers were forecast to pass through the airport, about 21,000 more than on an average day.
To help travelers get in the spirit, Christmas carolers dressed in Victorian-era clothing are performing throughout the terminal.
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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