In the event of a major incident, the system can provide advisories and even evacuation directions to motorists through an FM emergency broadcast radio system that automatically overrides a vehicle's radio inside the tunnel, regardless of the station the driver is listening to. Over the past 12 years, CDOT has expanded and improved the technology to enhance mobility and improve safety.
In , for example, CDOT installed a variable message sign at the approach to one of the canyon's sharper, more crash-prone curves. In addition, CDOT upgraded the original emergency callbox system from radio-controlled to a cellular phone callbox and computerized answering system.
The agency also placed callboxes about every 0. Hanging Lake also is the traffic control center for western and southern Colorado, including the future Wolf Creek Pass Tunnel. The Hanging Lake Traffic Control Center, located above the emergency vehicle garage in the middle of the tunnels, also received a much-needed upgrade.
The technology in the control center, including camera monitors, computer consoles, and other high-tech systems for managing traffic, had become obsolete. Much of the hardware was no longer manufactured, making service difficult and replacement parts hard to find. Under the old system, all of the tunnel's safety functionsvariable message signs, highway advisory radio, emergency callboxes, and closed-circuit television camerasworked independently.
The new PC-based system brings all of the tunnel's safety functions into a single, integrated program, providing CDOT with the latest in low-cost, high-performance microprocessor technology and programmable logic controllers. The new system is designed to make future upgrades easier and will provide the technology to enable CDOT to connect the control center to other State facilities. After the upgrade is complete, the tunnel system will have a vehicle detection system involving a state-of-the-art computer that predicts a vehicle's arrival in each of the tunnel's 16 traffic-control zones.
Failure of a vehicle to reach the next zone triggers an alarm, enabling the tunnel staff to respond more quickly to a stopped vehicle in the tunnel. The Hanging Lake Traffic Control Center now controls 82 variable message signs installed throughout western and southern Colorado, and more signs are being added. Also, Hanging Lake Tunnel soon will become the control center for a new tunnel that is under construction at Wolf Creek Pass in southwestern Colorado on U. Staff from Hanging Lake will monitor the new tunnel's traffic video images and other systems and functions such as fans and weather sensors.
Although more than kilometers miles apart, the two tunnels will function harmoniously, making better use of the State's resources. All of these tunnel upgrades are making Glenwood Canyon and other highways in western and southern Colorado safer and more efficient. A garage deep inside the tunnel houses a fleet of emergency vehicles that responds 24 hours a day to keep the tunnel safe and operating smoothly.
The final question from an environmental perspective is, How is the wildlife faring? Glenwood Canyon is bordered on both sides by the White River National Forest, where herds of elk, deer, bighorn sheep, and other species make their homes. Planners and designers concluded that a predominantly elevated roadway would give the wildlife ample opportunities to move freely across and through the canyon with minimal conflicts with traffic. Although no formal wildlife studies were conducted in the canyon either before or after construction, two local biologists suggest that the effects of the upgraded interstate on wildlife are minimal if any.
Based on personal observations, Bill Heicher, retired district wildlife manager with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and Larry Green, who worked as a district wildlife manager for the division from to and served on the project's Technical Review Group, agree that construction of the interstate has not affected local wildlife adversely. Numerous traffic studies show that when a State upgrades a road from two lanes to a four-lane divided highway, overall safety typically improves.
Driving Glenwood Canyon before it was upgraded to an interstate was an experience in contrasts and sudden changes. The old highway offered little or no room for driver error—a motorist could easily veer into oncoming traffic or off the road and into the Colorado River.
The sudden alteration of driver expectations of roadway conditions, combined with heavy traffic and poor roadway geometrics, led to the canyon's status as one of the most dangerous stretches of two-lane highway in the State. By , the year before construction began, the number of annual crashes had reached an all-time high of incidents, 25 of those involving injuries. This was a significant increase from the 86 crashes in , 84 crashes in , and 79 crashes in CDOT crash data are unavailable for Since the route through Glenwood Canyon was upgraded to an interstate, the number of annual crashes dropped nearly 40 percent, despite significant increases in traffic volume.
In the 5 years prior to construction, — excluding , the average number of annual crashes was Over the most recent 5-year period for which statistics are available, —, the average number of annual crashes dropped to This reduction is significant, considering that average daily traffic has more than doubled since the start of construction.
Other data support Glenwood Canyon's improved safety. For the section of I—70 through Glenwood Canyon between mileposts — the rate was 0. Because many stretches of the highway remain shady for long periods during winter due to the steep terrain and elevated structures, CDOT takes extra maintenance precautions to prevent the roadway from becoming dangerously snow-packed and icy.
CDOT, with help from FHWA, tested new deicing equipment and snow-removal techniques during a 3-year study in the mids at the western end of the canyon. The results helped CDOT develop a successful program involving installation of an ice-detection system throughout the canyon.
The system provides weather-related information that road managers can use to predict precise times when chemical deicing would work most effectively. As a result, winter driving conditions have improved significantly, according to CDOT studies and crash data from the State police. In addition to fewer snow-related crashes, less salt and sand now accumulate in the river, on roadside vegetation, and along the bicycle path. To minimize potential traffic and safety problems related to the climate and future maintenance activities, CDOT completed an asphalt overlay in using a high-performance asphalt designed to be capable of withstanding the canyon's extreme weather and heavy traffic.
When a mud and rock slide buried one of the more important highways in the West on July 29, the dramatic gridlock became a statewide spectator sport. That same historic rock slide, at the same moment, blocked off the most important river in the West. After decades of fierce arguments over damming up more of the water that rightfully belongs in the Colorado River, nature built a new dam in 5 minutes.
What happened to the fish? What happened to the river channel? What happened to drinking water downstream? Where did all the rafters go? As you travel through the canyon, be sure to stop at one of its many rest areas and use these photos as your guide to identifying the formations:.
Taken from the east No Name Exit, looking west. The break was caused, as in many places in the canyon, by faulting. The No Name Fault created the vertical displacement of feet, lining up the Leadville Limestone with Precambrian middle of photo. The faulting affected the development of the saddle you see. View from the No Name Rest Stop, looking east. The key characteristic of sedimentary rocks are their distinct, stratified layers. The layers were built by cemented sediment consisting of clays, sands, gravels or dissolved sediment of lime and gypsum.
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