DDN – The Colorado Department of Transportation shut down both eastbound lanes of Vail Pass on Tuesday morning to allow technicians to collect the wreckage of a lorry that crashed last week. All lanes were closed at 9 a.m., with the assumption that they would remain so until at least 3 p.m. By 5 p.m., the interstate was back open.

The Jan. 8 incident featured two semi-trucks and a large amount of spilled diesel gasoline, which prevented crews from removing the debris.

On Tuesday, CDOT crews tried to remove what remained of the crash. Crews attempting to retrieve the eastbound truck accidentally ripped apart the box truck, spilling the goods inside, which had to be recovered and accounted for before they could proceed to remove the vehicle itself. However, the recovery did not last the entire 6 hours as predicted.

“The semi over the edge…we are not going to mess with today,” said Joe Bajza, LTC Opps for the CDOT. “That is going to be a lengthy recovery on that one, so a lot of planning is going to go into getting that one unloaded and back on the road.”

Bajza feels that if all goes well and there are no weather delays, they may be able to have the other semi-wrenched free this week as well, though it will take longer. He feels that may be accomplished with a single-lane shutdown.

The eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 at East Vail-Exit 180 were closed. A diversion was in place, directing travelers off I-70 at East Vail, east on U.S. 24 to Leadville, and north on Colorado Highway 91 to rejoin I-70 near Copper Mountain.

According to CDOT, vehicles in the area should plan on adding around 90 minutes to their journey time.

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