Independence Pass To Close For The Season On Friday Evening Before More Snow Arrives
(CBS4) - Independence Pass will be closing for the season on Friday night at 7 p.m. The 12,095 foot high pass is located on Highway 82 east of Aspen. Pitkin County lies on one side and Lake County on the other.
The pass closes around this date every year, and the timing coincides with the arrival of a snowstorm heading into Colorado's high country.
The storm will arrive Friday night in Colorado's mountains and continue into Saturday and Saturday night, and visibility will be limited on many mountain roads including portions of Interstate 70. CBS4 Meteorologist Ashton Altieri says most areas above 9,500 feet will get 4 to 8 inches of accumulation.
Independence Pass didn't open until later than normal this year -- the beginning of June -- due to the safer-at-home orders as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Colorado transportation officials also closed Independence Pass for a few days in August when oversized vehicles started using the narrow road as an alternative route to get around the closure of Interstate 70 due to the Grizzly Creek Fire in Glenwood Canyon.
