Interstate 70 mountain way needs permanent fix
Re: “Eastbound Interstate 70 reopens in Glenwood Canyon after crash cleanup,” Sept. 19 online news story
Glenwood Canyon’s eastbound Interstate 70 lane just opened up two days after being shut down. Again.
By a tractor-trailer, again.
And this time in the fall with no snow on the interstate. At all. Unlike the frequent shutdowns on I-70 due to tractor-trailer wrecks during winter snowfalls in the winter, which happen again and again.
Western Slope traffic is rerouted through Steamboat, adding hours to the trip over last several days. Shut down due to a landslide, CDOT diverted from cleaning up the tractor-trailer mess (falling off the westbound lane onto the eastbound lane, by the way) and having to clear that before resuming work on the interstate.
Meanwhile, politicians running for federal office are sending Western Slope residents campaign literature promising action on the border (Wyoming? Kansas? New Mexico? Utah?) and cutting our gas prices (already 50 cents higher than most states due to Colorado state taxes, not federal).
It is time for U.S. representatives to start working on alternate interstate routes and enhancements for Western Slope residents to reach Denver. And it is time for CDOT to initiate pilot-car-guided tractor-trailer convoys 24 hours a day. First eastbound, then west. Keep truck drivers safe and the roads open.
Leslie Wilson, Collbran
The interstate highway through Glenwood Springs is of national importance. Once again, it closed. The need for an alternate route around the canyon is obvious. Cottonwood Pass is the obvious answer. It will cost a bunch of money, but it is in the national interest and should be paid for with federal funds. It should be built and we should start building it now.
Robert M. Gordon Jr., Lakewood
Hard to avoid regret in presidential election
Re: “Election 2024: The ‘Regrets question’,” Sept. 18 letter to the editor
Since I am 82 years old, I doubt that 10 years from now I will have any “regrets” about not voting for either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump in November, and I don’t believe that either one winning will affect me (personally) more than the other. Voters that are younger than me have much more to gain or lose in the future, so it’s more important for them to vote for the candidate of their choice.
The writer also suggests that “using reputable sources” is a way to make this important decision, and I would answer that I don’t know what a “reputable source” is anymore. Who do you think these “reputable sources” are …. CNN, Fox, MSNBC, other cable networks, the three major networks, The View, the internet, the NYT, WAPO, The Denver Post? I can hardly ever watch the news, read a newspaper or browse the internet without being exposed to obvious lies, exaggerations and distortions based on their political leaning. Even our so-called “serious journalists” are guilty of that.
No matter whether you vote for Harris or Trump, isn’t your chance of having regrets still there? How can you ever be sure that the other candidate wouldn’t have done better? In any case, do you seriously think that my vote would actually matter? Pick whichever poll you like and you will see that Harris will win the Colorado electoral vote by a considerable margin.
While Harris and Trump have totally different personalities and policies, the sad fact is that they are both horrible candidates … just in different ways.
Jim Malec, Roxborough Park
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