Those improvements are detailed in a new CDOT report that also investigated what is causing safety problems at the intersection. Although the number of accidents is not abnormally high given the amount of traffic, the presence of an accident pattern suggests a potential for accident reduction. Accidents prior to mid-1998 are not included due to a different highway alignment. Smith Way when a driver misjudged vehicle speeds and the time it would take to cross or merge onto S.H. 82.
Large trucks using that right turn lane tend to restrict sight distances even more.
Some drivers did not stop far enough forward at the down-valley 82 stop sign, possibly further reducing the sight distance. The posted speed limit through this area on S.H. 82 is 55 mph. Recent speed studies by CDOT indicate a majority of the vehicles traveling that section of highway are going above the posted speed. The Pitkin County Sheriff s Department confirms that speeds tend to be in excess of 65 mph. Way intersection was reconfigured in 1998 when the highway was widened from two to four lanes between Aspen Village and Brush Creek Road.