GENESEE, Colo. — Drivers traveling into Denver from the mountains this winter will notice some construction along Interstate 70 – the Colorado Department of Transportation is rebuilding the runaway truck ramp along the eastbound lanes of I-70, near Genesee.
The eastbound I-70 Mount Vernon Emergency Escape Ramp, located at milepost 257, is now closed through the winter.
“We’re going to beef up the ramp, between the ramp and edge of it so truckers feel more secure using it,” explained Tamara Rollison, spokesperson for CDOT. “We’re going to also improve various entryways. If you miss the first entrance, driving down I-70 and lose brakes, you may not see the first entrance to the ramp, but there’s another entrance you can enter. We are improving access to those points so they can be seen better and more obvious to truckers as they drive down I-70.”
CDOT said it has 13 runaway truck rams statewide, with five of those along I-70. Unlike the other ramps, which offer truckers the benefit of gravity with a path running up a hillside, the Mount Vernon ramp leads truckers on a slight decline.
“But it works well, as long as truckers use it,” Rollison said. ”It has very deep and heavy gravel in it. Should a trucker have to use it because of failed brakes, the gravel will stop the trucks in its tracks.”
CDOT tracks ramp usage throughout the state, by tracking CSP reports:
- 2023, YTD: 31 uses
- 2022: 44 uses
- 2021: 32 uses
- 2020: 30 uses
- 2019: 13 uses
According to CDOT, the most frequently used runaway ramps since 2019 are:
- WB I-70 milepost 209 east of Silverthorne and down the hill from the Eisenhower Johnson tunnels
- WB I-70 milepost 182 east of Vail
- WB US 40 milepost 142 south of Steamboat Springs
The I-70 Mt. Vernon ramp, now under construction, has only been used three times in the past five years, according to CDOT.
The state said the actual number of ramp usage statewide may be higher, accounting for drivers who may not stay long enough on the ramp to file a report.
CDOT data also shows that 90% of the truckers who use those ramps come from out of state.
“In-state truckers are familiar with the I-70 corridor. They know it, the challenging spots, and they also know where emergency truck rams are,” Rollison said. “It’s those traveling from out of state and not as familiar with mountain terrain, they use [ramps] most of the time.”
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos is serving prison time, after his semi-truck slammed into stopped traffic on I-70 back in 2019, killing four people.
He lost his brakes coming down from the mountains and did not use the runaway ramp available.
"That was a very, very tragic crash. It had a real emotional impact on our crews and those of us on the scene,” Rollison said. “We’re always looking for ways to improve safety and infrastructure. With this crash, in particular, we took a hard look at what can we do to improve safety.”
Rollison said those conversations with CDOT, the trucking industry, law enforcement, and other stakeholders led to the decision to rebuild the Mt. Vernon ramp, among other efforts to raise awareness and educate drivers. The trucking industry is trying to reach drivers through videos and information campaigns.
Colorado State Patrol said they want truckers to know they won’t be punished for simply using the ramps.
“We’re not going to cite somebody for using that, because we don’t want that to be in the back of their mind going, ‘I’m going to get a ticket if I do this,’” said CSP Master Trooper Gary Cutler. “We don’t want them to think they’re doing something wrong at this point.”
Cutler said trucks are often overwhelmed in the moments after they take the ramp. CSP responds to those scenes, along with other first responders, depending on the severity of the truck damage or injury to the driver.
“They’re scared, shocked. They’re trying to get back feeling of – what actually happened? Then they start to worry about the aspects of, how is this going to go legally for them,” Cutler said.
Cutler said troopers working along mountain roads will often spot a trucker’s brakes already smoking, and sometimes it turns into a vehicle fire. The more they can plan and prepare before a problem, the better. He also wanted to remind traditional drivers not to stop along runaway truck ramps, because that can be dangerous too.
“I-70 into Denver is a very large pipeline for our commercial traffic. A lot of semis come through, a lot of big loads, and a lot of the public is coming through here,” he said.
“So it’s a very intermixed group where everybody has to get along and it’s a very dangerous area as well because, if people aren’t doing what they are supposed to be doing, it can be devastating.”
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