Colorado road conditions: Slick roads lead to several closures Thursday

DENVER — Several roads remain closed after another round of snow rolled through Colorado.

The cold front that brought an initial blast of snow Tuesday evening continued to bring snow to the Denver metro area, foothills, mountains and eastern plains Wednesday. More snow is expected Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Many Colorado schools and businesses closed or delayed their opening on Thursday as crews continued clearing roads along the Front Range.

> See the full list of closures and delays

These roads on the eastern plains were closed as of 6 a.m. Thursday, according to CDOT: 

• US 24 in both directions Burlington to Seibert
• US 36 eastbound Byers to the Kansas state line
• CO 59 in both directions Haxtun to Kit Carson 
• CO 71 in both directions Limon to Punkin Center 
• CO 94 in both directions El Paso County line to US 40/287 Junction

The City of Boulder was placed on accident alert at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

> Denver plow tracker
> CDOT plow tracker

CDOT plow crews are in full shift and will be plowing and treating state-maintained roads throughout the storm and afterward as necessary.

Even with plowing, pretreatment and deicing, CDOT said roads are slick, particularly on bridges, overpasses and shady areas. CDOT added it’s best to avoid driving during the Wednesday commute and work from home if possible.

If you have to be out, take it slow, keep a safe distance behind the vehicle in front of you, stay well behind plows, do not pass plows and give extra time.

Denver and area counties will plow heavily traveled roads first before moving onto ones that don’t see as much traffic.

The City of Denver has 70 large plows and 36 smaller residential plows. Denver’s large plows can drop deicer down to provide traction on the streets. The small plows do not carry deicer.

Know before you go and check out COtrip.org for the latest road conditions.

The CDOT urged travelers to be aware of chain and traction law codes before heading out on the roadway:

• Code 18/Commercial Chain Law: Commercial vehicles and trucks must have chains. Vehicles without chains can often lose traction, causing traffic delays and sometimes road closures. For the safety of the traveling public, it’s critical to use chains to comply with Colorado’s chain law.
• Code 15/Passenger Traction Law: All passenger vehicles must have appropriate all-weather tires with 3/16-inch depth. Vehicles must have one of the following: winter tires, tires with mud/snow (M+S) designation, chains or alternative traction devices such as an autosock. 4WD and AWD vehicles must have winter tires or all-weather tires.
• Code 16/Passenger Chain Law: All passenger vehicles need chains, except for 4WD and AWD vehicles with all-weather tires with 3/16-inch tread depth.

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