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Answerland " Truck chains

Q: I always see way more trucks chaining up to head east than I do unchaining to head west. Where do they unchain once they get to the western side of the pass?

A: Truckers have a designated spot along eastbound Interstate 70 in East Vail to chain up before they head over the pass. But there’s no central place to unchain, and truckers seem to unchain at various points, either at the top of the pass or on the floor of the Vail Valley, said Nancy Shanks of the Colorado Department of Transportation.

When the chain law is put in effect by CDOT, truckers only are required to chain up for the uphill portion of Vail Pass.



“I would imagine it varies depending on conditions,” Shanks said. “They just pull over where it is safe and where they can safely slow down.”

Vail Police Chief Dwight Henninger said his officers often find trucks unchaining at the East Vail off-ramps. Depending on the conditions, other truckers unchain after they’ve traveled through Vail, sometimes all the way to Edwards,

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Henninger said. He pointed out that it takes less time to unchain, which would make truckers taking their chains off less noticeable than those putting them on.

” E.S.

The reporters at the Vail Daily will do their level best to find answers to questions you might have about life in our fair valley.

Is a pothole on your street swallowing large dogs and small cars? We’ll try to find out when the repair crew is coming. Are people speeding in the local school zone? We’ll ask the local police what they can do. Is that building going up down the street really going to be another Starbucks? We’ll see what we can find out.

E-mail your questions to newsroom@vaildaily.com, and we’ll get right on it.

Vail, Colorado


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