Colorado State Highway 82 - Independence Pass Closures and Restrictions

Independence Pass Closures and Restrictions

Because of the high altitude of Independence Pass, winter weather there begins well before the season itself starts. The snow falls deep through the season, and remains so throughout the spring. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) therefore closes the gates at both ends of the 24-mile (39 km) stretch of Highway 82 leading over the pass during those months. Typically it is closed by November 7 or the first significant winter snowfall, if that comes earlier. The pass is usually reopened just before Memorial Day weekend at the end of May after CDOT has cleared the snowpack and repaired the road. Some years when the snowfall has been lighter, the reopening has occurred several weeks earlier.

The narrow roadway, switchbacks, steep 6% grades and steep, sometimes unguarded dropoffs on either approach to the pass have also led CDOT to impose 10 mph (16 km/h) speed limits at the turns. Some types of vehicles are banned from the pass year-round. Oversized and overweight vehicles are prohibited, as well as any vehicle or vehicle combinations longer than 35 feet (11 m). As a practical matter this excludes tractor trailers, buses and recreational vehicles.

Some truck drivers have used the pass despite the prohibition. They are generally either unaware of the restriction and following routes plotted by their GPS devices, or aware of it and willing to risk the fine for the sake of the time and distance saved. This has led to accidents that have forced the closure of the pass. CDOT has put in larger signs advising drivers of the ban and worked with GPS device manufacturers so their software notes the restriction. Fine increases have been suggested as well.

Independence Pass is popular with bicyclists, and since 2011 it has been on the route of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge around Colorado. Racers cross the pass during a 131-mile (211 km) stage from Gunnison to Aspen. The highway is closed for the race from its western terminus to the end of the stage.