The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has announced progress on the I-70 Floyd Hill Project, which aims to upgrade an eight-mile stretch of Interstate 70 between Evergreen and eastern Idaho Springs. The project is intended to improve safety and traffic flow for motorists traveling through the gateway to the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
“As a busy 2025 construction season is wrapping up across Colorado, travelers will have improved roads throughout the state to make trips safer and smoother,” said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew. “The Floyd Hill team has achieved some significant milestones that will make the drive through this large construction zone a little easier, even as construction activity continues through the winter and into 2026. We will be keeping busy fixing our roads and bridges to make sure everyone gets where they’re going safely and reliably.”
Since work began in July 2023, crews have substantially completed three miles of highway between County Road 65 (Exit 248) and the middle of Floyd Hill. Motorists can now use a newly widened and realigned section with fresh pavement, full-width lanes, and shoulders. This segment prepares for a future eastbound extended on-ramp for slow-moving vehicles as well as a westbound Express Lane, both aimed at improving travel time reliability.
“Through innovative design and the dedication of the CDOT team, our contractor partner Kraemer North America, and dozens of local small businesses, the project now moves into its most ambitious phase: constructing a brand-new segmental bridge right alongside and above today’s I-70,” said Kurt Kionka, CDOT’s I-70 Floyd Hill Project Director. “We’ll be building a modern, safer highway while keeping this vital corridor moving. We understand the challenges construction brings to the local community, businesses and motorists traveling through the area. But we know this work will deliver benefits that both save and improve lives.”
Key improvements include a wildlife safety system featuring two miles of fencing, seven escape ramps, deer guards, and an underpass at Genesee designed to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions by up to 90%. Additional upgrades involve improved drainage systems for snowmelt and rainwater management as well as new retaining walls with natural finishes along eastbound I-70 to prevent erosion.
In 2026, construction will focus on building new westbound and eastbound bridge structures adjacent to current lanes between Floyd Hill’s midpoint and Hidden Valley/Central City Parkway interchange (Exit 243). To support this effort, overnight closures are planned in early December 2025 for temporary framework installation necessary for casting a concrete segmental bridge over live traffic.
Ongoing rock scaling and blasting operations—begun in October 2024—have removed more than 600,000 tons of material so far. These activities require periodic traffic holds during off-peak weekday hours.
The project employs over 1,200 field workers who have contributed more than half a million hours since its start. Kraemer North America leads construction efforts with support from over 150 Colorado-based subcontractors.
Once complete in phases by 2029—with new highway alignment expected by 2028—the project will add a third westbound Express Lane to address bottlenecks; construct missing frontage road sections; enhance ramps for slow vehicles; improve access at interchanges; increase sight distances on curves; upgrade trail connections; and facilitate safer wildlife crossings.
Further information about traffic impacts or updates can be found by texting “floydhill” to 21000 or visiting codot.gov/projects/i70floydhill.
