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Frontage Road Backups Cause Headaches Along I-70

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Aug 4, 2009 9:04 pm US/Mountain

Frontage Road Backups Cause Headaches Along I-70

Reporting
Stan Bush
IDAHO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) ― July was the busiest ever at the Eisenhower Tunnel. The Colorado Department of Transportation says a record 1.2 million vehicles passed through the tunnel.

All those cars led to plenty of traffic jams. To avoid the backups, many drivers use the frontage road. The road parallels Interstate 70 between Georgetown and Idaho Springs. But filling up that road can cause another huge mess.

"A lot of times people think they are going to make better time if they take that frontage road," Capt. Bruce Snelling with the Clear Creek Sheriff's Department said. "But eventually they have to hook back up with I-70 again. It probably doesn't gain them but a couple of minutes."

Since so many vehicles are now using the frontage road, it's become a problem for emergency vehicles trying to get through, causing delays up to 30 minutes.

"It gets so congested that it gets hard for us to get by on that road," Snelling said.

For people living on the frontage road, it's a nuisance that happens every weekend.

"Trying to get out ourselves, trying to get back on the main streets is sometimes a pain," a resident said.

"Pretty much just a steady stream of traffic for about 8 to 9 hours," another resident said.

But for businesses in Idaho Springs and Georgetown, the slowdown makes the economic wheels turn.

"We used to joke years back that if we could do something to slow traffic on I-70 it would be good for business," Dan Elbert with the Buffalo Restaurant said.

The backup usually leads to packed restaurants.

"We definitely get the benefit of Idaho Springs being where it's at and what happens around it," Elbert said.

Restaurants say they are getting so much business they don't even have to advertise anymore.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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