How to Build a Road

Summary

This script explores the complexities of constructing roads, particularly the engineering feats involved in building I-70 through Colorado's Rocky Mountains. It discusses the challenges of road design, including slope considerations for safety and the environmental impact of construction. The narrative delves into the history of I-70's development, the innovative techniques used to overcome geographical obstacles, and the ongoing management required to maintain safety and functionality in a dynamic landscape.

Takeaways

• 🛣️ Road design is complex due to the need for specific slopes to ensure safety, especially at turns where slopes counteract centripetal force.
• 🔍 The American Federal Highway Administration provides a formula for determining road slope based on design speed and turn radius, but this is just one interpretation among many debated by professionals.
• 🚚 Road designers prefer to adjust the road's lateral slope rather than its linear slope to accommodate vehicles, especially heavily loaded trucks.
• 🏔 Building roads through challenging terrains like Colorado's Rocky Mountains requires innovative solutions, such as tunnels or extensive earthwork.
• 🌊 Rivers often provide the flattest and most gradual routes through mountainous regions, making them ideal for road construction.
• 💡 The choice of route for a road can be influenced by factors such as population density, directness, and construction costs, not just terrain.
• 🚧 Constructing roads involves extensive earthmoving, including cutting into hillsides and filling low areas, which is both costly and complex.
• 🌱 Environmental considerations, such as protecting water sources and preventing erosion, are critical in road construction, especially in sensitive areas.
• ⏱️ The construction and maintenance of roads like I-70 are ongoing challenges that require constant management and adaptation to environmental changes.
• 💼 The operation and upkeep of major roads have significant economic impacts and require careful planning and investment, as seen with the Federal infrastructure package.

Q & A

Why are flat roads considered dangerous for driving?

Flat roads are dangerous because a flat turn can increase the potential of a car skidding off due to the lack of friction needed to counteract the centripetal force during turns.

How do road designers counteract the dangers of flat turns?

Road designers slope the corners inward to provide more friction and counteract the centripetal force, which helps to prevent cars from skidding off during turns.

What is the American Federal Highway Administration's role in road design?

The American Federal Highway Administration provides a formula that converts design speed and turn radius into a suggested slope for road turns, which is their interpretation of the safest slope.

Why is there debate among road designers and mathematicians regarding super elevation formulas?

The debate arises because some suggest more severe banking on turns to accommodate the higher centers of gravity of trucks, while others argue that steeper slopes may not be worth the benefit due to issues they create for slower moving vehicles, especially in conditions like snow and ice.

What is the maximum sideways slope typically used in road design?

The maximum sideways slope used in road design is generally about 12 percent, but it is usually quite a bit less and is only applied on corners.

Why did the original designers of America's Interstate system avoid building roads through the Rocky Mountains?

The original designers avoided building roads through the Rocky Mountains because of the immense challenge of finding a route that could meet the narrow accepted range of linear and lateral slopes required for safe road construction.

What was the reason for choosing the northern route for I-70 through the Colorado Rockies initially?

The northern route was initially chosen because it followed rivers, which typically center mountain valleys and fall gradually, providing a gentle linear gradient ideal for road construction with the primary gradient correction needed in the lateral direction.

Why did Pavlo engineering company not ultimately suggest the northern route for I-70?

Pavlo engineering company did not suggest the northern route because it was a longer, less direct route with a sparsely populated area, making it of lesser use to locals and more expensive to construct compared to the southern route.

What was the main challenge faced when deciding the route for I-70 through Vail Pass?

The main challenge was balancing the need for a road that could safely and efficiently traverse the steep and rugged terrain of Vail Pass without disturbing environmentally sensitive areas and without requiring extensive earthwork and tunnel construction.

How did the construction of I-70 over Vail Pass impact the local environment and community?

The construction had to carefully manage runoff and erosion to protect the watershed, especially Black Gore Creek, which was critical for local communities. It also had to adapt to the delicate landscape, using techniques like re-vegetation, retaining walls, and桥梁 to minimize environmental impact.

What measures did the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) take to manage the safety and maintenance of I-70, especially in challenging sections like Eisenhower Tunnel and Glenwood Canyon?

CDOT implemented measures such as banning Hazmat trucks from Eisenhower Tunnel to prevent catastrophic incidents, triggering avalanches remotely to prevent unexpected avalanches, and closing the highway during heavy rain forecasts to manage mudslides in Glenwood Canyon.

What is the significance of the Federal infrastructure package for the upgrades and maintenance of I-70?

The Federal infrastructure package provides crucial funding for necessary upgrades and maintenance of I-70, ensuring the road remains safe, efficient, and capable of serving the economic and transportation needs of Colorado and the surrounding regions.

Outlines

00:00

🛣️ Road Design Challenges and the Engineering of I-70

This paragraph discusses the complexities of road design, particularly the challenges of constructing roads that are both safe and practical. It highlights the need for roads to be flat to prevent skidding but also sloped to provide friction during turns. The American Federal Highway Administration's formula for determining the optimal slope of turns is mentioned, along with the ongoing debate among designers and mathematicians. The paragraph also touches on the unique difficulties faced in constructing I-70 through Colorado's Rocky Mountains, including the initial decision to avoid the mountains, the selection of a route, and the engineering solutions employed, such as the world's highest road tunnel at the time.

05:00

🏔️ Navigating the Terrain: The Construction of I-70 Through the Mountains

The second paragraph delves into the specific challenges of constructing I-70 through the mountains, including the initial plan to tunnel under Red Buffalo Pass and the subsequent decision to divert due to environmental concerns and protected land. The chosen alternative route, Veil Pass, is described, along with its advantages and disadvantages, such as the manageable gradients and lower elevation but also the added length and cost. The process of road construction, from the initial surveying to the cutting and filling of earth, is outlined, emphasizing the significant costs and the need to reshape the landscape to accommodate the road.

10:01

🌧️ Water Management and Environmental Considerations in Road Building

This paragraph focuses on the critical issue of water management in road construction, especially in the context of I-70's construction over Vail Pass. The challenges of runoff, soil erosion, and the impact on local water supplies are discussed, along with the measures taken to mitigate these issues, such as the use of hay bales, sandbags, and sedimentation basins. The importance of re-vegetation and the establishment of a stable uphill slope to prevent erosion are highlighted. Additionally, the paragraph touches on the long-term management of water around roadways to protect the environment and ensure the road's sustainability.

15:02

⚠️ The Ongoing Management and Safety of I-70

The fourth paragraph discusses the continuous management and safety concerns of I-70, especially in the context of its treacherous sections such as the Eisenhower Tunnel and Glenwood Canyon. The tunnel's operational challenges, including traffic congestion and the prohibition of Hazmat trucks, are explained. The paragraph also covers the proactive measures taken to manage avalanches and the recent issues faced in Glenwood Canyon due to wildfires and mudslides. The importance of adapting to the shifting priorities in road safety and the constant evolution of the landscape is emphasized.

20:04

🗺️ The Impact and Future of I-70

The final paragraph reflects on the transformative impact of I-70 on Colorado's economy and human geography, as well as the ongoing upgrades and maintenance required to keep the road functional and safe. It mentions the Federal infrastructure package that has funded current improvements and the importance of managing the road's complexities. The paragraph concludes with a sponsorship message encouraging a balanced and transparent approach to understanding media coverage and political perspectives, highlighting the value of diverse news sources.

Keywords

💡Road Design

Road design refers to the planning and engineering process that determines the layout, shape, and features of a road to ensure safety, efficiency, and environmental compatibility. In the video's context, road design is crucial for navigating the challenging terrain of Colorado's Rocky Mountains, where factors like slope, turn radius, and superelevation are considered to prevent skidding and maintain vehicle stability.

💡Superelevation

Superelevation is the practice of banking or sloping a road's outer edge in turns to counteract the centrifugal force experienced by vehicles, thereby increasing friction and preventing skidding. The video discusses how the American Federal Highway Administration has a formula for calculating the ideal superelevation based on design speed and turn radius, highlighting the ongoing debate among road designers and mathematicians about the optimal levels for different conditions.

💡Centripetal Force

Centripetal force is the inward force experienced by an object moving in a circular path, which in the context of road design, affects how vehicles navigate turns. The video explains that road corners are sloped inward to counteract this force, providing a safer driving experience by increasing the friction between the vehicle's tires and the road surface.

💡Interstate 70 (I-70)

Interstate 70, or I-70, is a significant transcontinental highway in the United States that stretches from Utah to Maryland. The video focuses on the challenges and engineering feats involved in constructing I-70 through Colorado's Rocky Mountains, including the need for tunnels, bridges, and careful environmental considerations.

💡Elevation

Elevation in the context of the video refers to the height of a geographical feature above a fixed reference point, typically sea level. It is a critical factor in road construction, especially in mountainous regions like Colorado, where the video discusses the need to manage steep gradients and high-elevation passes for the I-70 highway.

💡Environmental Impact

Environmental impact pertains to the effects, whether positive or negative, that a project or construction has on the surrounding environment. The video script mentions the environmental concerns during the construction of I-70, such as the protection of the Eagle's Nest Wilderness Area and the careful management of water runoff to prevent erosion and sedimentation in local waterways like Black Gore Creek.

💡Cutting and Filling

Cutting and filling are earthmoving processes used in road construction where 'cutting' refers to the removal of earth to create a level path for the road, and 'filling' refers to the addition of earth to raise the road above the surrounding terrain. The video explains how these processes are fundamental in reshaping the landscape to accommodate the road, with significant costs and environmental considerations.

💡Retaining Walls

Retaining walls are structures that hold back soil and rock, providing support for roads and other structures built on slopes. In the video, retaining walls are used in the construction of I-70 to manage the steep and unstable terrain, especially in areas where traditional cut and fill methods were not feasible.

💡Avalanche Control

Avalanche control involves采取措施 to prevent or mitigate the effects of avalanches in mountainous areas. The video describes how the Colorado Department of Transportation uses explosive devices to trigger controlled avalanches during low-traffic periods to prevent the sudden and potentially catastrophic burial of the I-70 highway by natural avalanches.

💡Mudslides

Mudslides, also known as debris flows, are rapid flows of earth materials and water down slopes. The video mentions the challenges of managing mudslides in Glenwood Canyon, where the risk of road closures due to heavy rain and wildfire-induced landslides poses a significant threat to the operation of I-70.

💡Infrastructure Management

Infrastructure management is the ongoing process of maintaining, upgrading, and operating infrastructure assets such as roads. The video discusses the constant management required for I-70 to ensure its safety and functionality, especially in the face of changing environmental conditions and increasing demands.

Highlights

Roads require a specific shape to ensure safety and functionality, with slopes designed to counteract centripetal force and provide friction for vehicles.

The American Federal Highway Administration has a formula to suggest the safest slope for turns based on design speed and turn radius.

Road designers and mathematicians debate the merits of different super elevation formulas for road turns.

The sideways slope of a road corner is limited to about 12%, with most being less, affecting the overall cross-section design.

Linear slopes in the direction of travel are kept minimal to allow heavy trucks to climb safely, with a maximum rise of six vertical feet per 100 horizontal.

Finding a route for I-70 through Colorado's Rocky Mountains was initially deemed too challenging due to the terrain.

Pavlo engineering identified several options for the I-70 route through the mountains, considering cost and gradient.

River routes are preferred for road construction due to their tendency to center mountain valleys and gradual fall, reducing construction costs.

The northern route for I-70 was initially cheaper and less complex, but ultimately deemed less practical due to its indirect nature and lower population.

The selection of the southern route for I-70 required creativity and innovation, including the construction of the world's highest road tunnel at the time.

Environmental concerns and protected areas influenced the route selection for I-70, leading to public pushback and policy changes.

The construction of I-70 involved meticulous planning and earth-moving techniques to reshape the landscape for a safe and efficient road.

Environmental regulations and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 influenced construction practices to minimize environmental impact.

I-70's construction over Vail Pass was an engineering marvel, carefully designed to fit the landscape and local values.

The cost of constructing I-70 over Vail Pass was significant, reflecting the complexity and environmental considerations of the project.

Managing I-70 requires constant adaptation and maintenance to address safety issues, environmental impacts, and changing conditions.

The Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 is a critical but challenging section, with policies in place to manage hazardous materials and maintain safety.

Avalanche and mudslide management are part of the routine safety measures for I-70, especially in areas prone to such natural events.

The Federal infrastructure package has enabled upgrades to I-70, reflecting the ongoing need for maintenance and improvement of this critical transportation route.

Transcripts

so you want to build a road first is

perhaps the most impossible feat finding

a route that's because roads have a

particular shape that Earth often does

not both linearly and laterally they're

fairly flat but not completely flat flat

roads are dangerous a flat turn will

increase the potential of a car skidding

off so Road designers slope the corners

inward to counteract centripetal force

and give the car more friction the

higher the speed and the sharper the

turn the more sloped the turn needs

meaning there is a theoretically safest

slope for a turn the American Federal

Highway Administration has a formula

that converts design speed and turn

radius into a suggested slope but that's

only their interpretation of it Road

designers and mathematicians endlessly

shoot academic papers back and forth

debating the merits of this and other

super elevation formulas some suggest

more severe banking on turns to

accommodate the higher centers of

gravity of trucks others argue that

steeper slopes are not worth the benefit

due to the issues they create for slower

moving vehicles in the event of snow and

ice and it gets far more complex Flex

than that but this is all largely

irrelevant because at the very very most

the sideways slope will be about 12

percent but it's normally quite a bit

less and it's only on Corners so overall

a relatively flat cross section is

needed regardless linearly in the

direction of travel even less of a slope

is tolerated in order to allow heavily

loaded trucks to safely climb into sand

Highway should rise or fall no more than

six vertical feet or meters for every

100 horizontal so in combination the

narrow accepted range of linear and

lateral slopes presents a challenge when

you need a road to go over this

Colorado's Rocky Mountains originally

America's Interstate designers didn't

dare attempt to Traverse these Peaks

I-70 was originally supposed to end in

Denver leaving the states as the only in

the region without a Trans Mountain

Interstate after intense lobbying though

Washington relented designers would have

to find a route through the E Lionel

Pavlo engineering company was tasked

with identifying the cheapest flattest

route through the mountains one year

later they were turned with these seven

options at first glance the northern

route seemed best as it best subscribed

to one of the most tried and tested Road

routing shortcuts Rivers you see see any

route through the mountains is going to

require a certain amount of earthwork

and the slope is perpendicular to the

road you cut a flat section into the

slope at Great expense by one estimate a

50 slope doubles construction costs but

using Earth to achieve the required

gradient in the linear direction is even

more expensive simply due to the sheer

distance and volume of earth involved so

considering they're either going to need

to flatten linearly or laterally road

builders would much rather do so

laterally the best place to find routes

like this is by Rivers that's because

they typically Center mountain valleys

and fall rather gradually for example

the mighty Colorado River only drops

about a mile of elevation across the 280

it traverses through this date despite

being surrounded by terrains steep

enough for a mile of elevation gained to

occur over a mile of horizontal distance

the gentle Riverside linear gradient is

perfect for road construction leaving

the primary gradient correction to the

lateral Direction which can be done at

lesser expense therefore on a per mile

basis this Northern route was Far

cheaper and less complex the only

section That Couldn't easily sit at a

reasonable grade was here traversing the

Continental Divide where they'd need to

build a tunnel but after that the road

would follow the Fraser and Colorado

Rivers each shepherding a flat mellow

path to the mountains

but the Pavlo engineering company didn't

ultimately suggest this route its

justification was first at this Northern

area of Colorado was relatively sparsely

populated even by Rocky Mountain

standards meaning this route would be of

lesser use to those actually living in

the stage rather than traversing and

perhaps more crucially even with the

relatively simple geography it was a far

longer less direct route this meant that

even though the southern route would

require traversing two high elevation

passes rather than one Pavlo thought it

could be built for some 55 million

dollars less it would just require some

creativity inevitably this route 2 would

require a tunnel that's because it

crossed the continental divide the

geographic split between the side of the

country where Rivers drain into the

Atlantic and the side where they drain

into the Pacific inherently rivers from

one side don't connect to those on the

other meaning there generally are not

mellow mountain valleys for roads to

follow up and across the Divide there's

simply a wall of massively High

massively steep Peaks meaning traversing

it was going to require either a massive

feat of engineering to create an

interstate standard Road climbing up to

nearly 12 000 feet or 3 700 meters or

the construction of the world's highest

elevation Road tunnel at 11 000 feet or

3 400 meters incredibly given the

gradients and weather in the area the

tunnel was ultimately selected as the

more practical option that left the

other pass the interstate was definitely

going to go through Silverthorne and it

was definitely going to go through Veil

but standing between the two towns was a

similarly formidable stretch of

mountains initially the answer was to

just go straight climb up this Valley

then tunnel under red buffalo pass this

would require building a similarly

daunting tunnel but it would keep the

highway on its straight efficient route

through the state the only issue was

that the land surrounding this pass was

part of the forest service's Eagle's

Nest Wilderness Area a stretch of

pristine protected nature that was not

supposed to be disturbed by anything

this along with the ascent of the

environmental movement more broadly led

to massive public pushback they argued

that it was bad enough for the highway

to be disturbing the environmentally

sensitive area at all but for it to pass

to one of the highest categories of

protected land was simply untenable as

the official in charge of the forest

service the final call rested in the

fans of Orville Freeman the secretary of

agriculture in a shock decision after

alignment planning had already started

on the red buffalo route he said no I-70

would have to divert elsewhere the

alternative was clear Veil pass with its

more manageable gradients and

comparatively lower 10 600 foot 3200

meter elevation this route could

actually be navigated without a tunnel

the downside was that the 10 miles or 16

kilometers in added length would lead to

an estimated 94 cents in additional Fuel

and maintenance cost for every driver

but at least after years of debate study

surveying and consensus building finally

Colorado's Trans Mountain Interstate had

a route now they just needed to turn it

into reality

up to this point much of the work had

been done from top down when it's time

to build though this orientation flips

as road construction happens one layer

at a time from the bottom up

Veil pass is undeniably steep but by

Rocky Mountain standards not impossibly

steep in fact while the section from

Veil to Vale pass reaches a grade over

the preferred range of zero to six

percent the pass averages roughly a

Colorado comfortable 4.5 grade linear

grade in other words was a challenge but

the lateral would prove an even bigger

headache to transform undulating unruly

topography into a uniform Transportation

throughway planners start by turning in

their overhead projections for a map of

a different sort a side cut now it's

time to create a path flat enough and

wide enough for a road this starts with

building a road base which in turn

requires the Earth moving processes of

cutting and filling processes

straightforward enough that their name

does mostly explaining fill Earth where

it's needed and cut away where it isn't

at its simplest cutting and filling

begins first with surveying in the field

then with measurements made moves to

paper becoming an exercise in

rudimentary math first the proposed

route is broken into 100 foot or 30

meter sections called station then at

each station or half station players

look at the side cut and figure out

where dirt needs to be added and where

it needs to be removed if a Road's going

into a hillside for instance the cut

will be on the uphill side The Fill on

the downhill side with the Earth from

the cut being moved to the fill on flat

land there's likely to be more fill than

cut as a road will be positioned to sit

higher than its surroundings so water

will shut off the road shoulder rather

than pool once the amount of Earth

required to move is figured out at one

particular station it's on to the next

station to do the same math than the

next then the next after that and once

all these values are figured out the

planer now has a rough sense as to how

much Earth will need to be moved and how

much time material and money will cost

across the entire length of the roadway

according to a Florida Department of

Transportation cost estimating model

this part of the process cutting and

filling or Excavating and banking for

divided four-lane highway across a rural

landscape would cost in itself over 1

million dollars a mile which makes up

nearly a quarter of the per mile price

though a task that's easy to wrap one's

head around it's one that requires a

fundamental reshaping of a landscape and

thus a lot of money and this estimates

for the flat seat of Florida not

Colorado a state where protruding Peaks

and a rocky disposition make it easy for

Earth moving costs to shoot a mile high

before I-70 crested over Vale pass it

was U.S Highway 6. a small two-lane road

cut into the north side of the canyon

that was Notorious for its sharp turns

and difficult driving it was dangerous

to the point that motorists often

avoided it opting for the smoother safer

but exceptionally indirect us-40 to

build a bigger Road effectively two us-6

is while making the road safe enough to

move unfamiliar Americans across at a 60

mile per hour clip it would need to be a

lot more earthwork but in such a tight

space and such a pristine and delicate

environment it would also be major

constraints the first was this tiny

Creek

while a waterway that only a fraction of

coloradans can actually name black or

creek was and is critical to the

communities below filling the

recreational reservoirs near the past

supplying drinking water to Veil and

eventually dedicating its flow to a

section of Creek below the town of vale

that's earned the distinction as a gold

medal water for trout fishing Blackboard

Creek is important locals knew as much

and federal planners knew as much so

when it came to figure out where to

flatten out enough space for a road base

the question of what it would do to the

Watershed became an important one runoff

is a tricky business in Road building it

first presents a challenge during

construction but handled improperly will

remain a challenge for the lifespan of a

road unveil past this challenge was

exacerbated by perpetually Sandy soils

rapid snowmelt in late spring and

pounding rainfall in mid-summer with the

passage of the National Environmental

Policy Act of 1970 I-70 contractors were

just beginning to understand

environmental impact statements and

pollution laws when they were awarded

contracts to get the interstate over the

mountain now rather than just being fast

they had to be diligent 2 or face the

fines City officials Downstream from the

project for their part were concerned

about construction as the loose soil at

the pass was already silting up the

town's water supply before any

construction tore out grass and

vegetation upslope so contractors as

they do today meticulously tested the

water to ensure that sediment hadn't

risen to unacceptable levels under their

watch to keep these levels low during

construction teams placed hay bales and

sandbags to slow runoff and directed to

settlement basins water would inevitably

make it to the stream but if they slowed

it and let the particles settle to the

bottom it wouldn't carry too much dirt

down with it but these are temporary

problems with temporary fixes there's

also the challenge of dealing with water

once a Road's complete and this is such

a critical concern of road building that

the U.S Department of Transportation

project development and design manual

dedicates an entire chapter to the

subject of water basically the question

this entire chapter revolves around is

how to best move water around and

off-roadways without ruining the nearby

surroundings the answer begins above the

cut and starts during the construction

phase the very moment a road base is

established it's a race to re-vegetate

the slope above the road with grasses

and Shrubbery that will hold the land in

place when it rains generally planers

look to keep the uphill slope no steeper

than a ratio of two to one for every two

units the slope extends horizontally it

may safely rise one with a harsher

environment Veil past planners opted for

slopes of 2.5 to 1 or less and to give

Grass at their best chance sprayed

hillsides with Mulch on the steepest

sections and place netting to help the

seed take hold for natural depressions

that served as drainages for the hill

signs teams placed thirsty Willows and

boulders to both naturalized the

landscape and slow the flow unveil pass

and generally in Highway construction

Builders will make the most of these

perpendicular drainages and actually cut

uphill ditches running parallel with the

road to divert runoff headed for Highway

to the drainage then below via Culvert

we're applicable paralleling ditches

culverts and re-vegetation have proved

tried and true techniques to manage

runoff and mitigate erosion in call

Colorado and elsewhere but in the narrow

confines below the pass neither simple

cut and fills nor their drainage systems

were always applicable to ensure that

road fill wouldn't spill into black Gore

or 10 Mile Creek planers instead opted

for retaining walls where rock

formations made a smooth 2-1 cut

impossible explosives blasted Shear

walls out of troublesome rock formations

while netting and planted topsoil placed

above mitigated future rockfall and most

unique to this particular section of

Interstate are the sections neither

blown into the Rock nor cut into the

Mountainside but the 23 separate

sections of the interstate that float

across the landscape on bridges that

were placed to account for the fact that

almost the entire Road from Vale to the

Past sits on a fault line and a series

of still-shifting historical landslides

with the cuts and fills the exposed rock

cuts and the bridges this section of

roadway is practically a highway

building handbook on its own and as an

exemplary Road of nearly every trick and

technique available to Road Engineers it

wasn't cheap when Vail Pass was proudly

dedicated in 1978 estimates put the cost

of the 24 Mile 39 kilometer section at

an estimated 91 million dollars adjusted

for inflation that's nearly 427 million

dollars total 18 million dollars per

mile or 11 million dollars per kilometer

and yet with all that money spent

driving over Vail Pass doesn't feel as

if you're passing over an engineering

Marvel that's conquered a landscape but

rather a road that almost seems a part

of it with a delicate landscape front of

mind while crossing four service land

and connecting ski resorts and a host of

other Recreation hot spots every Last

Detail along the past from the red

tinged concrete to match the local rock

Boulder strewn across revegetation areas

and Frank Lloyd wright-inspire retaining

walls to the manner in which rock was

blasted to make it look more natural the

section of Interstate was built to fit

the landscape and the values of the area

around it something that's not lost on

contemporary planners who have carefully

codified these specific design traits

for future additions or alterations on

the past in this way though I-70 is the

same as any other Road designed uniquely

to fit its environment and best serve a

particular purpose but even once

designed and built for that environment

the environment is constantly shifting

which means that roads especially those

as complex as I-70 need constant

Management in order to stay safe with

its tight turns Steep gradients and

volatile weather the entirety of this

road is treacherous but with their

inherently limited resources the

Colorado Department of Transportation

focuses its efforts most on the sections

that are most dangerous and most

disruptive to close down Eisenhower

Tunnel that highest road tunnel in the

U.S is one such spot even under the best

conditions the slower speeds of the

tunnel turn it into a choke point that

causes massive notorious traffic

backlogs if the tunnel closes an entire

interstate's worth of traffic must

divert onto the winding treacherous

two-lane Loveland Pass which turns a bad

traffic situation catastrophic but there

simply are not Alternatives the next

shortest diversion is two hours long

over another treacherous mountain pass

so CDOT does everything possible to keep

Eisenhower Tunnel open

this starts with some controversial

rules Hazmat trucks carrying fuel

chemicals or other hazardous materials

are not allowed through the tunnel the

logic is that a fuel tanker fire for

instance would be absolutely

catastrophic in such an enclosed space

while the tunnel does have its own fire

department that can handle smaller

incidents its remote location means that

getting full resources to combat such a

Hazmat incident could take hours in

which time the tunnel could be damaged

to an extent that could take months or

years to fix let alone the risk to any

drivers trapped inside what this means

is that Hazmat trucks must take the

treacherous Loveland Pass instead which

CDOT plows up to its near 12 000 foot 3

700 meter peak all through the winter

making it Colorado's highest year-round

Road of course navigating a fuel tanker

up a steep winding road to 12 000 feet

in the middle of a Colorado winter is

far from safe so Trucking industry

Advocates argue that this policy is

effectively trading the safety of truck

drivers for the convenience of ski

commuters but after a recent feasibility

study reevaluating the policy CDOT

maintain means that it's the best

balance of safety overall

but even I-70 itself is plenty

treacherous in the winter after all this

is the highest elevation section of

interstate in the U.S given their

proximity to the continental divide both

sides of the tunnel are flanked by steep

Mountain faces and with steep Mountain

faces calm Avalanches this is Mount

Bethel and these two tree-free corridors

are the telltale signs of an avalanche

path if an avalanche were to trigger

without warning the snow and debris

could bury the roadway for hours or even

days and potentially even bury people

therefore CDOT triggers Avalanches

themselves at the start of each winter

the department positions Obelix trigger

devices at the top of slide paths on

each side of the tunnel these remotely

triggered egg-shaped capsules shoot out

a concussive Blast From The Bottom that

if the conditions are right trigger an

avalanche in the snow below this allows

CDOT to close the interstate during a

low traffic period to assure nobody gets

caught up and Trigger Avalanches

regularly enough that no single slide

will catastrophically bury the roadway

but especially in a landscape like

Colorado the priority list of road

safety issues is constantly shifting

meaning CDOT has to adapt in recent

years Glenwood Canyon 80 minutes to the

West has become the interstate's new

most sensitive section it follows the

Colorado River through a deep Canyon

with thousand foot walls and in the

event of a closure there is simply no

viable diversion route what normally

takes 30 minutes turns into a four hour

Trek across rural two-lane roads

effectively cutting off the entire

Western Slope from Denver but in 2020

the road was shut for 13 days as a

wildfire swept through the canyon and

even that was the least of its issues as

the fire burned the plant life whose

Roots kept soil in place rainstorms

cascaded into massive mudslides that

would bury the road and potentially

drivers unlike Avalanches mudslides

can't be remotely triggered during a

managed closure forcing CDOT to rather

close the highway whenever Heavy Rain

was forecasted bifurcating the state

just by the threat of weather with

shifting threats and ever-changing

demand managing a road like I-70 is an

endless job CDOT and his Personnel

constantly face new challenges to keep

this crucial conduit flowing after all

it's a road whose existence was once

thought impossible but considering its

impossible existence has transformed the

entire State's economy and Human

Geography its operation is now just

simply crucial

with decades having now passed since

i-70's original construction it's due

for upgrades and plenty are happening

right now thanks to funding from the one

trillion dollar Federal infrastructure

package passed two years ago now this

was something where Congressional and

public opinion was split evenly down

party lines and the media coverage about

the passing of the bill often framed the

issue in terms of who's winning and

losing politically that's why I've been

using our sponsor ground news to

research issues in a way that lets me

see past this partisan spin it's a

website and app developed by a former

NASA engineer on a mission to give

readers an easy data-driven way to read

the news every story comes with a quick

visual breakdown of the political bias

factuality and ownership of the sources

reporting all backed by ratings from

three Independent News monitoring

organizations and you can directly

compare related articles from different

sources to see what details are

emphasized or exaggerated or left out I

especially like the blind spot feed

which highlights stories that are

disproportionately covered by one side

of the political Spectrum now you may be

thinking why should I pay attention to

partisan sources but if you lean right

you may have missed this story and if

you lean left you may have missed this

story I think it's important we

understand how our current media

environment operates and the impact it

might have on our politics so we can

engage in constructive dialogue and

maybe we can even challenge some of our

own assumptions you can go to ground.new

slash Wendover to get 30 off the ground

news Vantage plan which includes a

feature called my news bias it's

basically a dashboard for your news diet

showing you what your top news sources

are whether you engage with different

perspectives what topics you're

interested in and a lot more go to

ground.new slash Wendover or click the

link in the description to see how your

reading habits change over the next

month and support an independent news

platform working to make the media

landscape more transparent

thank you