July 4th Weekend Means Heavy Traffic Throughout Colorado

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Coloradoans are preparing to hit the road for the July 4th holiday weekend. KRCC’s Tucker Hampson reports. 

Rising gas prices are still 7 cents lower on average than last year, and are expected to have little effect on the number of Colorado residents traveling 50 miles or more for the holiday weekend. 

The Independence Day weekend sees some of the largest numbers of travelers in comparison to other holidays, according to Bob Wilson, a spokesman for the Colorado Department of Transportation.

"We’ve had a lot of snow-melt, and then you have children that are already out of school, where you don’t see that with some of the earlier and later holidays," said Wilson. "This is the time when truly everybody’s available if you will, and the weather conditions tend to be very favorable."

Wilson says this year could see record numbers of travelers and as many as 45,000 vehicles going through I-70s Eisenhower Tunnel.

Travelers should expect heavy traffic through Sunday throughout the state.