Colorado DOT photo

The Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel.

Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) officials contemplating closing the westbound bore of the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel because of ice formations have identified the problem's source, eliminating closure possibilities, according to summitdaily.com.

CDOT Region 1 tunnel program manager Paul Fox told the outlet that some of the new leaks and ice mounds visible while driving through the tunnel's westbound portion resulted from a project aimed at pushing water away from the tunnel liner.

That forced water over the tunnel's arc and into an exhaust plenum — an area with dedicated space for air circulation, summitdaily.com reported.

When that happened, CDOT crews noticed icicles on the ceiling and ice mounds in areas they hadn't seen in the past.

"Now we have water on the left-hand wall, which in my time [with CDOT] we've never had up there before," Fox said.

Crews are working to channel water out of the exhaust area.

Fox said CDOT officials aren't worried about the new ice formations.

"It's just a change. We're humans — we don't like change, so when we notice something, we do talk about it," he said.

Fox said the tunnel walls motorists see are largely cosmetic and that much of the water circulation happens through piping inside the tunnel.

"The water [people] see is from the ground, and it's seeping through our tunnel liner," he said. "That's always going to happen anytime you build on a mountain — you just can't get rid of the groundwater."

CDOT officials try to avoid Interstate 70 closures because the state's economy, summitdaily.com reported.

The Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel is one of the most well-traveled portions of I-70 in the western part of Colorado. CDOT officials say nearly 35,000 motorists pass through it daily during ski season.

Not only does CDOT perform a structural integrity vetting of the tunnel each year, but the U.S. Department of Transportation does its own vetting every other year, Fox told summitdaily.com.

The tunnel is egg-shaped, with arches at both the top and bottom and a structure comparable to a bridge going through it. During inspections, he said, teams search for movement in the tunnel, which is largely evidenced by cracks.

The tunnel is atop the Continental Divide, which Fox said is known for constantly shifting. Those shifts are minor, amounting to quarter-inch increments over many years, so people shouldn't worry about structural integrity.

CDOT officials said the tunnels are prioritized in the agency's 10-year plan adopted in May 2020. An estimated $53 million has been invested in tunnel repairs since, according to summitdaily.com.

CDOT began a $71-million repair project in June 2023 to repair and rehabilitate the tunnels, which is slated to wrap up by fall. And an additional $100 is earmarked for future tunnel projects.

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