I70 Closure!

[drbradfo]

Need advice!

I'm in Winter Park, CO headed to Park City, UT. Leaving on Tuesday morning (or so was the plan). Planning on I-70, charging in Silverthorne, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction... etc. all the way to Park City. Unfortunately, a giant rock and landslide decided to close I-70 east of Glenwood Springs.

Do I go the LONG way through Steamboat Springs (and charge there for several hours) and limp to Grand Junctions?

Wait it out until they open i-70?

I'm traveling in a classic P85 with a roof rack and ski box, so I'm only getting about 150 miles per charge at freeway speeds.

PS: I'm on a ski trip and a storm is coming to Utah that I'd really, really like to be present to ski on Thursday.

 

[Dave85D]

I would go for it.

I get it's 287 miles from Silverthorne SC to Grand Junction SC via Steamboat, but only 243 miles to Glenwood SC via Steamboat. You say it's closed east of Glenwood, so it might be worth backtracking to the SC there.

 

[Barry]

From the sound of it, I wouldn't expect it to reopen today:
Second rock slide closes 24-mile stretch of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon | FOX31 Denver


Everyone going through will be taking that detour, so expect LONG delays. You might want to consider staying in Winter Park or another CO ski area for an extra night and see what transpires. Have fun and get another ski day in, rather than worrying about it. Shouldn't be a problem getting lodging midweek.

 

[drbradfo]

My plan right now is to head directly from Winter Park to Steamboat Springs (99 miles) and charge there. I'm leaving this morning with a full range charge, so hopefully it's only 3-4 hours to get back to a full charge. Then head towards Grand Rapids (191 miles), if we are running short of charge we'll backtrack to Glenwood Springs (156 miles) and charge before heading to Grand Rapids. Roads look good, with the exception of a short stretch between Winter Parka and Steamboat. Probably only make it to Grand Rapids tonight and then onwards to Park City Wednesday.

 

[Cottonwood]

Another choice is to drive from Silverthorne to Salida. If you have dual chargers, there is a 70 Amp J1772 at Wood's High Mountain Distillery in Salida; remember that charging is only available during business hours. The staff is very helpful and welcoming, and the location is walking distance to many activities in Downtown Salida. From Salida to Grand Junction, it's about 190 miles, but at least there are 2 30-Amp J1772's at a shopping center in Montrose: Centennial Plaza — Montrose, CO.

I would definitely evaluate if there is an option to put the ski rack and the skis inside the car for the Silverthorne to Montrose segment. The reduced Wh/mi will greatly reduce the charging times at the L2 locations.

To minimize charging time when going from a Supercharger to an L2, leave the Supercharger when the DC current at the Supercharger into your car has dropped to half of the AC usable current available at the next L2. For example, going from Silverthorne to Salida, leave the Silverthorne when the Supercharger DC current has tapered down to 35 Amps if you have dual chargers and can use the 70 Amps at Salida, and leave Silverthorne when the DC current is down to 20 Amps if you only have a single charger that can use 40 Amps in Salida.

BTW, if it were summer, the route over Independence Pass from Silverthorne to Glenwood is pretty easy and quite beautiful.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

My plan right now is to head directly from Winter Park to Steamboat Springs (99 miles) and charge there. I'm leaving this morning with a full range charge, so hopefully it's only 3-4 hours to get back to a full charge. Then head towards Grand Rapids (191 miles), if we are running short of charge we'll backtrack to Glenwood Springs (156 miles) and charge before heading to Grand Rapids. Roads look good, with the exception of a short stretch between Winter Parka and Steamboat. Probably only make it to Grand Rapids tonight and then onwards to Park City Wednesday.

I think you mean Grand Junction. Grand Rapids would be quite the detour! :wink:

 

[Cottonwood]

My plan right now is to head directly from Winter Park to Steamboat Springs (99 miles) and charge there. I'm leaving this morning with a full range charge, so hopefully it's only 3-4 hours to get back to a full charge. Then head towards Grand Rapids (191 miles), if we are running short of charge we'll backtrack to Glenwood Springs (156 miles) and charge before heading to Grand Rapids. Roads look good, with the exception of a short stretch between Winter Parka and Steamboat. Probably only make it to Grand Rapids tonight and then onwards to Park City Wednesday.

Good Luck. Let us know how it goes. Steamboat is a nice place to spend a few hours. As I said before, while you are charging there, see if there is any way to put the ski rack and skis in the car. That will help a lot. Even if you can't slowing down the driving can take less time total because of the reduced charging time.

Grand Junction is more interesting than Grand Rapids, but only by a small amount. :biggrin:

If you can make it, do a little top up in Grand Junction and head on down the road to Moab. It's a little out of the way, but is beautiful and has a Supercharger.

Once again! Good Luck!!

 

[dgpcolorado]

...Grand Junction is more interesting than Grand Rapids, but only by a small amount. :biggrin:

If you can make it, do a little top up in Grand Junction and head on down the road to Moab. It's a little out of the way, but is beautiful and has a Supercharger.

Once again! Good Luck!!

Another scenic side trip from the Grand Junction Supercharger station is a drive through Colorado National Monument:

The Supercharger station is point A on the map.

I would guess that the OP is stressed enough about the detour to not be interested in sightseeing, but both Colorado National Monument and the Moab area (Arches and Canyonlands National Parks) are well worth a visit.

Colorado National Monument road leading to Fruita and I-70.

Independence Monument, one of the many vistas from overlooks in Colorado National Monument.

 

[Cottonwood]

Another scenic side trip from the Grand Junction Supercharger station is a drive through Colorado National Monument:

...

I would guess that the OP is stressed enough about the detour to not be interested in sightseeing, but both Colorado National Monument and the Moab area (Arches and Canyonlands National Parks) are well worth a visit.

I was not suggesting any serious sight seeing. OTOH, the views from town and the character of the restaurants, bars, and coffee shops in Moab, are leaps and bounds above Grand Junction. If at all possible, I would push on to spend the night in Moab, perhaps at the Best Western that hosts the Supercharger there. Moab is less than 2 hours down the road from Grand Junction.

 

[Barry]

Probably not an issue this time of year, but the Moab SCs at the Best Western are often ICEd, being directly across from some of the Motel rooms.

 

[NOLA_Mike]

Wow - with all traffic diverted off of I-70 I'm imagining a nightmare on the limited alternate routes. Jammed with tractor trailers on 2 lane mountain roads for hundreds of miles.

I was contemplating going west on I-70 in to Utah today but this made my decision an easy NO. I went to Silverthorne this morning and there was another wreck between Georgetown and Loveland Pass that had traffic backed up for miles.

Which got me thinking about something that I don't think I give enough importance to. I routinely get on the road and am comfortable enough after almost 3 years of Model S ownership that I can estimate the charge I need to reach the next supercharger within a couple of %. Therefore I often head out with the plan to arrive at the next supercharger with 15 or so miles remaining resulting in getting the fastest charge time. Obviously I would not cut it this close if there was a chance for bad weather or anything else I knew about before leaving. What this behavior does not take in to account is this situation. The distance required to detour around this must be a worst case scenario of anywhere in the country due to the terrain. If you left Silverthorne and drove almost to Glenwood Springs and this happened you would likely have <50 miles range remaining and could very well be screwed. You'd be scouring Plugshare...

Mike

 

[dgpcolorado]

I was not suggesting any serious sight seeing. OTOH, the views from town and the character of the restaurants, bars, and coffee shops in Moab, are leaps and bounds above Grand Junction. If at all possible, I would push on to spend the night in Moab, perhaps at the Best Western that hosts the Supercharger there. Moab is less than 2 hours down the road from Grand Junction.

Yes. Moab makes for a more interesting stop than Green River as well.

 

[Barry]

If you left Silverthorne and drove almost to Glenwood Springs and this happened you would likely have <50 miles range remaining and could very well be screwed. You'd be scouring Plugshare...

For sure, as it's mostly down hill (first 20 miles is a 1500 ft climb to the top of Vail Pass, then all down hill with about a 4800 ft descent) from Silverthorne to Glenwood Sprgs. When I leave home near Denver, traveling west on I-70, I typically skip Silverthorne and make my first charging stop in Glenwood Sprgs.

 

[dgpcolorado]

It's not the first time I-70 was closed by a rock slide in Glenwood Canyon. I guess the lesson learned is to always check the state of the road on cotrip.org before leaving a Colorado mountain Supercharging station.

 

[NOLA_Mike]

Update

Just heard on the news that it will be completely closed until Thursday. On Thursday they will open ONE lane and move traffic with a pilot car. This one lane will have to handle both east and west bound traffic so they will convoy a group west then turn around and convoy a group east. This may last a week or longer. They estimate it may be a month before all lanes are reopened.

That's ugly...

 

[Cottonwood]

Just heard on the news that it will be completely closed until Thursday. On Thursday they will open ONE lane and move traffic with a pilot car. This one lane will have to handle both east and west bound traffic so they will convoy a group west then turn around and convoy a group east. This may last a week or longer. They estimate it may be a month before all lanes are reopened.

That's ugly...

If you have not been in Glenwood Canyon, it's pretty amazing what they did there to build the highway, not exactly the Gulf Coast...

See Glenwood Canyon: A History of the Canyon and Construction of I-70 for some history.

 

[NOLA_Mike]

If you have not been in Glenwood Canyon, it's pretty amazing what they did there to build the highway, not exactly the Gulf Coast...

See Glenwood Canyon: A History of the Canyon and Construction of I-70 for some history.

I have (and I was looking forward to it again - but I'll be back in the summer headed to Salt Lake City). I always tell people "When you think interstates are boring and that you don't see anything fascinating without taking back roads then take I-70 thru Glenwood Canyon."

I think I saw somewhere that the 12 mile stretch thru Glenwood Canyon is the most expensive interstate ($/mile) ever built?

 

[Barry]

NOLA_Mike (and others):
Speaking of Glenwood Canyon, if you haven't done it, do the hike up to Hanging Lake. The trailhead parking lot is just off I-70.
Another structurally interesting section of I-70 is between Frisco and Vail. The east and westbound lanes are separated by several hundred feet and there's a bike path in between them. I biked from Keystone to the top of Vail Pass over the summer with my daughter. IIRC, it was 60 miles round trip and about 4000 ft vertical climb. I could hardly move afterwards :smile:

 

[Chuq]

Not directly related, but I wanted to get an idea of the location you were talking about so I used Google Maps. They are on point with road blockages - the map below is simply after entering the two SC locations without any alternate route specified!

 

[Cottonwood]

Not directly related, but I wanted to get an idea of the location you were talking about so I used Google Maps. They are on point with road blockages - the map below is simply after entering the two SC locations without any alternate route specified!

That map correctly bypasses the road closure in Glenwood Canyon, but the road it suggests as an alternative would require a snowmobile to pass this time of year...well beyond the capabilities of even the X...