The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has announced that drivers should prepare for increased traffic across the state during Labor Day weekend, as various events and recreational activities are expected to draw more travelers.
To help ease congestion, CDOT will suspend all construction projects starting at noon on Friday. Only emergency operations will continue. Construction work is set to resume on Tuesday, September 2.
Heavier traffic is expected along the Front Range, mountain highways, and especially on Interstate 70 west of Denver. According to CDOT, “Traffic on I-70 is at its peak primarily from mid-morning until early evening on Friday, and from early morning to mid-afternoon on Saturday. Eastbound I-70 traffic will be at its highest on Labor Day from mid-morning to late afternoon, especially from Eagle and Summit counties to the Denver area.”
During non-holiday weekends in the summer high travel season—early July through mid-August—an average of 44,744 vehicles pass daily through the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial Tunnels. Over Labor Day weekend, this average rises to 46,890 vehicles per day. In 2024, a total of 187,562 vehicles traveled through these tunnels during the holiday period.
The mountain express lanes will operate westbound from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and eastbound from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday through Monday; however, these hours may change depending on traffic conditions.
Seasonal routes such as CO 82 over Independence Pass between Twin Lakes and Aspen and Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park remain open until weather conditions require closure for winter. The highway leading up Mount Blue Sky (CO 5) remains closed due to construction; updates can be found at the Federal Highway Administration’s website: https://highways.dot.gov/federal-lands/projects/co/mt-blue-sky.
Travelers seeking real-time road status can check https://www.cotrip.org or call 511 for updates. Specific information about I-70 is available at https://goi70.com/.
For those who prefer not to drive during the busy weekend, CDOT’s transit system offers alternatives including Bustang (serving Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park), Bustang Outrider (connecting Denver with Grand Junction and Fort Collins with Trinidad), as well as Pegasus shuttle vans running between Denver and Avon along I-70 west corridor. More details are available at https://ridebustang.com/.
CDOT Safety Patrol vehicles will be active throughout major highways in the Denver area as well as I-25 north toward Fort Collins and south toward Colorado Springs over Labor Day weekend. Peak patrol times are scheduled for mornings between 6:00–9:30 a.m., afternoons between 2:30–7:00 p.m., with off-peak coverage midday and additional weekend patrols from 10:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
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