Much like Interstate 25 between Colorado Springs and Denver, the Colorado Department of Transportation’s computer system just couldn’t handle the crush during Sunday’s snowstorm.

Motorists who tried to check road conditions on the busiest travel day of the year could not access the state’s one go-to spot – CDOT’s Web site, www.cotrip.org – until late in the evening.

The problem: CDOT’s six computer servers – plus two more that were added in the afternoon – were overwhelmed by the number of people trying to visit the site, spokesman Bob Wilson said Monday.

A huge number of calls also overwhelmed CDOT’s automated phone lines for road conditions: 511, with 144 lines, and its statewide toll-free hotline, 1-877-315-7623.

Wilson said Sunday’s communications meltdown was caused by an unusual confluence of events: heavy holiday traffic, the Front Range’s first real snowstorm of the season and bad weather in other parts of the state that sent travelers to their computers or phones.

He said the situation was akin to that facing motorists traveling on I-25 north of Colorado Springs to Denver – a trip that took four hours for some frustrated motorists. The hordes of motorists returning from Thanksgiving holiday, plus heavy snow and, in some places, poor visibility overwhelmed the highway’s capacity, resulting in a plodding drive.

Wilson said CDOT plans to double the number of servers that give computers users access to www.cotrip.org. He said the department hopes to have the 12 servers up and running this winter.

He said the agency does not have the money to expand either of its phone-based systems. The toll-free number, for example, already costs the agency $60,000 a month to maintain – a cost that can double during the winter.

It may fall under the category of too little too late, but officials reported midday Monday that all major roads in the region were passable, and many were either dry or just wet. Some roads in the Monument area, which received the brunt of Sunday’s storm, were still slushy, but road crews expected to have them plowed by the end of the day.

Tim Wolken, director of public services for El Paso County, said all county plows were out at 2 a.m. Sunday and stayed out for 24 hours. He said all arterial and collector roads had been cleared, and crews Monday were plowing neighborhood roads, especially in the Black Forest.

The major roads plowed earlier were being widened, he said, and icy spots were being sanded late Monday.He said the county did not have to close any roads during the storm.

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Contact the writer: 636-0197 or bill.mckeown@gazettedev.gazette.com

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