WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — A section of Interstate 70 in Wheat Ridge is so dangerous that CDOT is lowering the speed limit to try and prevent another deadly crash. Earlier this month, three people died when a truck lost its load and tipped over in a construction zone near Ward Road.
CDOT told 9NEWS Monday they will lower the speed limit to 55 mph, down from 60 mph. CDOT traffic engineers looked at the work zone after the crash and decided that a lower speed limit was necessary to improve safety. CDOT will also install new signs in the coming week with flashing beacons warning of a lane shift and slower speed limit. Right now, there are already two warnings, but they’re adding more.
"Our overall goal is to get everyone home safe every night," Joe Trussell, co-owner of CDL303 Trucking School, said. "Everybody has a stake in this. We all just want to get home to our families every night."
CDL303 is the only trucking school that offers courses specifically designed for mountain driving. They’re pushing for more truckers to get mountain driving training after a series of crashes in Colorado. Before three people were killed in Wheat Ridge, four died just up the road in 2019 when a driver missed a runaway truck ramp and caused a fiery crash at Denver West Boulevard. Earlier this year, one person died on Highway 285 near Conifer when a truck spilled its load.
Without more training, Trussell fears the crashes will continue to happen.
"There are a lot of young guys out there who need to be taught how to drive in the mountains," Trussell said. "They’re doing their best, but when physics get involved, when those descents get involved, if they don’t have the skills to handle it, then bad things can happen."
9NEWS wanted to provide a different perspective on what it’s like to drive that stretch of road. Behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound truck, Scott Maurer knows his job requires full concentration.
"In school, they always taught us that you’ve got to have your head on a swivel," Maurer, another co-owner of CDL303, said. "You’re just looking in your mirrors the entire time. You’ve got to bring your A-game. There’s no way around it."
The view from his office changes constantly as he navigates the twists and turns of the Colorado mountains. He took 9NEWS cameras for a ride through the I-70 construction zone where the deadly crash happened on August 15.
"Off to the right, tilt to the left. It’s a lot. He’s crossing the lines," Maurer said as he watched a truck driving in front of him struggle to stay in its lane.
Speeding through I-70 coming down from the mountains, it’s hard for the truck in front of Maurer’s to not veer outside of the lines.
"As a truck driver, you should know that if it’s a construction zone, you’re different," Mauer said. "You need to go ahead and knock it down a little more for a safer speed. It’s the right thing to do."
WATCH: Full truck driver perspective through I-70 work zone
CDOT acknowledges speeding is a factor that can contribute to crashes in the area, though the specific cause of the crash that killed three is still under investigation.
"Speeding is a concern along this and all roads in the state," a CDOT statement to 9NEWS read. "We urge motorists to heed the speed limit and signs in construction zones and drive to the conditions, leaving plenty of space behind the vehicle ahead and drive with no distractions."
As CDOT works to lower the speed limit and add new signs warning of the construction zone, inside the cab of the truck, Maurer knows all truckers should drive even slower to make sure everyone is safe.
"As a truck driver, your education should let you know that you’re on a different scale," Maurer said. "You should automatically knock it down to 50 or 45."