Posted: Mar 12, 2011 12:27 PM by AP
DENVER (AP) - A study of ways to ease traffic jams on Interstate 70 in the Colorado mountains confirms that the alternative preferred by planners would cost $16 billion to $20 billion.
The final version of the study was released Friday. The Summit Daily News reports it doesn't differ substantially from a draft version released in September.
The study examined alternatives for a 144-mile stretch of I-70 from Denver to Glenwood Springs, which serves most of the state's major ski areas and a national forest popular with outdoors enthusiast. It also carries heavy traffic through the state.
The preferred alternative includes high-speed rail, widening to six lanes in two segments and developing programs to increase mass-transit service.
The study projects that weekend travel times could triple from 2000 without corridor improvements.
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Information from: Summit Daily News, http://www.summitdaily.com/
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)