Driving from L.A. to Denver

I'm planning a trip for late March. The obvious choices are I-15 to
I-70 vs. I-15 to I-40 to I-25. The latter route is about 3 hours
longer but might become necessary if road/snow conditions warrant.

What I'm looking for are statewide traffic web sites for Utah and
Colorado for the primary route, and Arizona and New Mexico for the
alternate route.

I'm also looking for the points of highest elevation along each
route? Where are the highest passes along I-70 in Utah and Colorado,
I-40 in Arizona and New Mexico, and I-25 in New Mexico and Colorado.

On Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:36:58 -0800 (PST), larry_scholnick
> wrote:

>I'm planning a trip for late March. The obvious choices are I-15 to
>I-70 vs. I-15 to I-40 to I-25. The latter route is about 3 hours
>longer but might become necessary if road/snow conditions warrant.
>
>What I'm looking for are statewide traffic web sites for Utah and
>Colorado for the primary route, and Arizona and New Mexico for the
>alternate route.
>
>I'm also looking for the points of highest elevation along each
>route? Where are the highest passes along I-70 in Utah and Colorado,
>I-40 in Arizona and New Mexico, and I-25 in New Mexico and Colorado.


Arizona has traffic info at www.az511.gov

On Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:36:58 -0800 (PST), larry_scholnick wrote:

> I'm planning a trip for late March. The obvious choices are I-15 to
> I-70 vs. I-15 to I-40 to I-25. The latter route is about 3 hours
> longer but might become necessary if road/snow conditions warrant.
>
> What I'm looking for are statewide traffic web sites for Utah and
> Colorado for the primary route, and Arizona and New Mexico for the
> alternate route.
>
> I'm also looking for the points of highest elevation along each
> route? Where are the highest passes along I-70 in Utah and Colorado,
> I-40 in Arizona and New Mexico, and I-25 in New Mexico and Colorado.

I believe there's a little item known as the continental divide which
dictates the highest elevations. Please consult a map.

For I-70 though that would be the Eisenhower tunnel which has an altitude
of something like 10,500 feet or so.

> I believe there's a little item known as the continental divide which
> dictates the highest elevations. Please consult a map.

Mmm. I think the concept of a "continental divide" is not
necessarily the locally highest elevation to be found. Larry could
be hanging a left just short of an excellent example: the 10,000 foot
Sandia Mountains, well east of the 7200-foot Continental Divide. How
does that work? They're an isolated clump that starts at about a mile
of elevation and go up about another mile. Thus their peaks are much
higher than the Continental Divide in NM, but wherever water may fall
on them, it ultimately goes east, not west.

(As it happens, I think the Continental Divide is the highest part on
New Mexico's bit of I-40, by a couple of hundred feet over Clines
Corners and maybe a hair more over the south end of the Sandias, and
it'd take a better map than the ones that fall to hand at the moment
to decide whether that's slightly higher than the Arizona Divide just
west of Flagstaff.)

I think Raton Pass, on I-25, nicks a 7800-foot contour.

Google Maps is great for tracing this sort of thing -- about the third
or fourth from the closest-in zoom, when you're on the Terrain tab,
the numbered contour lines show up.

Anyway, here are NM road conditions (traffic per se is not much of an
issue except at peak hours in the commute direction in Albuquerque --
delays would be related to weather or road construction): http://www.nmroads.com/

Colorado: http://www.cotrip.org/home.htm

Utah: http://commuterlink.utah.gov/

In late March, weather in Arizona and NM would probably consist of the
"spring winds," which can kick up a pretty good sandstorm. You'd
have to go to high elevations or have bad luck to have snow trouble
there in late March. Utah and Colorado, being further north and for
the most part higher up than I-40 in Arizona and most of NM, would
have correspondingly later snows and colder nights.

Have a safe trip (a scenic one is a given on any of those routes),
--Joe

On 2010-02-22 18:36, larry_scholnick wrote:
> I'm planning a trip for late March. The obvious choices are I-15 to
> I-70 vs. I-15 to I-40 to I-25. The latter route is about 3 hours
> longer but might become necessary if road/snow conditions warrant.

If you want to avoid mountains because of potential snow delays, or just
for easy driving, I suggest a third, somewhat less obvious route:
I-15 to I-84 east to I-80 east to I-25 south.

In summer this would be about three hours longer than I-15 to I-70, but in
winter it's better. That part of I-80 is substantially flatter and gets
less snow than I-70. And by going past Salt Lake City on I-15/I-84 rather
than the "simpler" I-15 to I-80 route, you avoid both a huge snow area
(Park City) and 30+ miles of annoying curves, in exchange for about 5
miles of them on I-84.

Don't even think about the New Mexico route in winter.

On Feb 26, 6:57*pm, John David Galt >
wrote:
> On 2010-02-22 18:36, larry_scholnick wrote:
>
> > I'm planning a trip for late March. *The obvious choices are I-15 to
> > I-70 vs. I-15 to I-40 to I-25. *The latter route is about 3 hours
> > longer but might become necessary if road/snow conditions warrant.
>
> If you want to avoid mountains because of potential snow delays, or just
> for easy driving, I suggest a third, somewhat less obvious route:
> I-15 to I-84 east to I-80 east to I-25 south.
>
> In summer this would be about three hours longer than I-15 to I-70, but in
> winter it's better. *That part of I-80 is substantially flatter and gets
> less snow than I-70. *And by going past Salt Lake City on I-15/I-84 rather
> than the "simpler" I-15 to I-80 route, you avoid both a huge snow area
> (Park City) and 30+ miles of annoying curves, in exchange for about 5
> miles of them on I-84.
>
> Don't even think about the New Mexico route in winter.

Given that there does not appear to be a ramp from NB I-15 to EB I-84
near Roy, UT, do you suggest using UT-26 (half a mile before) or US-89
(15 miles before)?

On 2010-03-03 15:14, larry_scholnick wrote:
> On Feb 26, 6:57 pm, John David Galt >
> wrote:
>> On 2010-02-22 18:36, larry_scholnick wrote:
>>
>>> I'm planning a trip for late March. The obvious choices are I-15 to
>>> I-70 vs. I-15 to I-40 to I-25. The latter route is about 3 hours
>>> longer but might become necessary if road/snow conditions warrant.
>>
>> If you want to avoid mountains because of potential snow delays, or just
>> for easy driving, I suggest a third, somewhat less obvious route:
>> I-15 to I-84 east to I-80 east to I-25 south.
>>
>> In summer this would be about three hours longer than I-15 to I-70, but in
>> winter it's better. That part of I-80 is substantially flatter and gets
>> less snow than I-70. And by going past Salt Lake City on I-15/I-84 rather
>> than the "simpler" I-15 to I-80 route, you avoid both a huge snow area
>> (Park City) and 30+ miles of annoying curves, in exchange for about 5
>> miles of them on I-84.
>>
>> Don't even think about the New Mexico route in winter.
>
> Given that there does not appear to be a ramp from NB I-15 to EB I-84
> near Roy, UT, do you suggest using UT-26 (half a mile before) or US-89
> (15 miles before)?

I've always just followed the signs, that's probably the US 89 route.

> > I'm planning a trip for late March. *The obvious choices are I-15 to
> > I-70 vs. I-15 to I-40 to I-25. *The latter route is about 3 hours
> > longer but might become necessary if road/snow conditions warrant.

> If you want to avoid mountains because of potential snow delays, or just
> for easy driving, I suggest a third, somewhat less obvious route:
> I-15 to I-84 east to I-80 east to I-25 south.

Good thing you suggested that, because at an awkwardly located bit of
I-70, some truck-sized pieces of the Rocky Mountains just dismounted:
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14633690


> Don't even think about the New Mexico route in winter.

Really depends on how much flex is built into the trip (both in start
date and in the ability to pull up short) and on the traveler's skill
at winter driving. The former is a good idea on any route, of
course. Parts of this route *are* in the mountains and therefore
something could sweep through or brew up locally -- or it could be
nice. Much the same could be said for any of the routes between LA
and Denver...

--Joe