Colorado road closures: I-70 reopens in Eastern Plains

DENVER — A historic, major winter storm that hit the Denver metro area and continued across Colorado’s Eastern Plains continued to cause road closures Saturday.

The 9NEWS Weather Impact Team issued a Weather Impact Day on Friday and Saturday for the significant snowstorm.

Highways began reopening across the Eastern Plains on Saturday, including Interstate 70, which was shut down Friday night due to the snow.

Hundreds of schools were closed across Colorado on Friday, including some of the largest school districts in the Denver area, such as Denver Public Schools, Aurora, Cherry Creek, Douglas County and Jeffco Public Schools.

> See the full list of closures and delays

These major highways and interstates were closed as of 2:30 p.m. Saturday, according to CDOT: 

• US 6 Eastbound/Westbound Loveland Pass
• US 24 Eastbound/Westbound Seibert to Burlington
• US 160 Eastbound/Westbound from US 350 Junction to CO 389 Junction
• US 160 Eastbound/Westbound from Kim to US 385 Junction
• CO 59 Northbound/Southbound from Cope to Kit Carson
• CO 71 Northbound/Southbound from Last Chance to Punkin Center
• CO 86 Eastbound/Westbound from Elizabeth to I-70
• CO 94 Eastbound/Westbound to Near Rush to US 287 Junction
• CO 101 Northbound/ Southbound from Las Animas to Toonerville 
• CO 109 Northbound/Southbound from La Junta to Kim
• CO 389 Northbound/Southbound from New Mexico state line to US 160 Junction

> 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. 

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.

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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