Overview

• Colorado transportation officials unveiled the reconstructed Vail Pass rest area on Tuesday, reopening the I-70 facility ahead of the 2025–26 winter season.
• The new building increases restroom capacity from 10 to 22 stalls, adds two family restrooms and a new drinking water system, and offers fully accessible amenities.
• Total parking expands from 73 to 248 spaces, including 61 for recreation users, 53 for the building, 19 flex spots for overflow, and 95 dedicated snowmobiler spaces designed for trucks with trailers.
• The site is reconfigured to integrate the Ten Mile Canyon Trail for safer, more seamless access in a recreation area used by roughly 62,000 backcountry skiers and snowmobilers annually.
• The project cost $21 million and finished nearly two years behind the original October 2023 target and about $1 million over early estimates, with CDOT citing funding delays, supply-chain issues, short high-altitude work seasons, and weather; officials say the design improves safety, truck parking, and staging for winter maintenance and emergencies.