BENEATH THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE \u2014 If the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels are Colorado\u2019s high country artery, think of its $20 million fire suppression system as the health insurance policy that keeps it pumping.<\/p>\n
At the very least, the system is meant to prevent travelers from experiencing something truly heart-stopping, like the 1982 Caldecott Tunnel fire in California that left seven people dead. But more realistically, it\u2019s a way to make sure that traffic keeps flowing along Interstate 70 in the event of a much more likely, and less tragic, vehicle fire.<\/p>\n
Completed in 2015, the system reflects the Colorado Department of Transportation\u2019s increased focus on the importance of the pair tunnels that carry growing numbers of people and goods to and from the Western Slope each year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe system is a risk mitigation strategy,\u201d said Stephen Harelson, chief engineer at the Colorado Department of Transportation. \u201cThe goal is to preserve human life first, protect the tunnel from long-term damage second.\u201d<\/p>\n
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