Colorado Adding Congestion Pricing to I-70 Next Winter, Plans New Eighteen-Stage Gondola to Resorts

Starting this December, segments of Interstate 70 such as Loveland Basin (pictured above) will require a toll to drive through during peak times.

Colorado’s ski resorts have struggled to handle the influx of traffic and crowds on weekends and holidays over the past few seasons. Now, the state believes it has a solution.

Starting on December 1, 2024, the state will implement “congestion pricing” to access Interstate 70 between Avon and Georgetown, which is the segment where all the major ski resorts are located. Vehicles will have to pay $15 to enter this zone on all weekends and holidays between December 1 and April 30 of next season.

Half of the revenue will go to the state, which will invest in public transportation initiatives such as a new eighteen-stage gondola between downtown Denver and Beaver Creek, with intermediate stops at other resorts and towns along the way. The other 50% will go to ski resort operators such as Vail Resorts, Alterra, and Powdr, which will use the money towards capital improvements such as new lifts and expanded base villages. Certain private shuttle services, such as the Vail-run Epic Mountain Express, will be exempt from the charge.

Dan Simmons, Colorado’s chief spokesperson, made the following comment on the new initiative: “This new congestion pricing initiative will help preserve Colorado’s ski slopes while providing much needed ways for us to improve our public transportation, village infrastructure, and ski resort carrying capacity. It will also help the resorts pay their bills in case of decreased visitation.” Mr. Simmons was previously a communications manager for Alterra before moving into his role for the state.

Following the announcement, rumors began to swirl about some of the new investments that will come from this toll revenue. Potential projects from this funding include two new eight-pack lifts at Vail, a detachable quad up Copper’s Back Bowls, and a new base village with condos and expanded parking at Arapahoe Basin.

From end-to-end, the new Interstate 70 gondola is expected to take five hours to ride.

Our Take

While the traffic to get to and from Colorado’s ski resorts has only been getting worse, we believe that should this initiative actually go through, it will be one of the worst developments to hit the ski industry in recent memory. Ski resorts have only been getting more and more commercialized over the past few years, with increased lift ticket prices, fees to pay for parking, and atrociously-priced cafeteria food. Since none of the resorts in the Interstate 70 corridor with paid parking programs are planning to eliminate them, certain drivers could be facing fees of $45 before even getting on the mountain.

The new gondola may be a way to avoid the stop-and-go traffic jams of Interstate 70, but with a top speed of just 15 mph, it’s going to be a leisurely and impractical ride. And with so many stops along the way, the ride will in all likelihood take longer than just taking the highway, even with the traffic delays.

It’s even more egregious that some of the toll revenue will be going right into the pockets of the resort operators, which have been achieving record visitation and revenue in recent years, thanks in large part to the multi-resort Epic and Ikon Passes. It’s hard to argue that these resorts need any more funds for their projects, especially when the ones that may potentially be in the pipeline could serve to only further commercialize the mountains.

The biggest impacts will be felt by day trippers from Denver—especially those who frequent more down-to-earth resorts such as Loveland and Ski Cooper. These smaller resorts have bucked the trend of charging crazy ticket prices and fees to park, but with the new Interstate 70 toll, those who visit even these mountains during peak times won’t be able to avoid paying an extra fee for resort access.

While the public transportation initiatives may dampen the negative impacts from this change, the people who stand to benefit from this move—besides the resorts themselves—are people who have splurged to stay on site and paid for a private shuttle to get there from the airport. With the new toll, taking a shuttle such as the Epic Mountain Express has suddenly become more competitive price-wise with just renting a car and driving to the resort.

For more information on Colorado’s ski resorts, check out our Colorado rankings.

Additionally, please be mindful of the date while reading this article. APRIL FOOLS!