VP Biden zips through valley thanks to a rolling roadblock
Post Independent
Aspen, CO Colorado
ALL |
GLENWOOD SPRINGS – A rolling roadblock on Highway 82 and Interstate 70 Monday morning allowed for the safe, and fast, passage of Vice President Joe Biden and his entourage to the Eagle County Airport.
Biden spent the weekend in Snowmass Village skiing and visiting with veterans who are attending the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic.
As the vice president’s entourage moved down the valley, local police and sheriff’s deputies blocked intersections and driveways and stopped traffic on the route ahead, clearing the entire roadway in both directions.
“We had notice last week that they were going back through today,” said Glenwood Springs Police Chief Terry Wilson, “but the time changed, so we had a short window to prepare. It was a mad scramble, calling people in, but it went really well. The sheriff’s office was having a training, so they jumped in and helped us. It was all done safely; there were no crashes and no problems.”
The entourage roared through Glenwood Springs at 11:50 a.m., led by a half-dozen state patrol vehicles with sirens blaring and trailed by an Aspen ambulance and more police cars. About four sport utility vehicles were in the middle of convoy. The official vehicles passed through town at speeds of more than 40 mph.
Wilson said motorists who were stopped for the vice president’s motorcade were all patient and cooperative, even though police officers could not explain the reason for the roadblocks.
Biden’s party flew in to the Eagle County airport on Thursday evening, and the convoy was escorted from Gypsum to Snowmass Village late Thursday evening, passing through Glenwood Springs close to midnight.
On Saturday, Vice President Joe Biden greeted volunteers during registration for the 25th annual National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Snowmass Village.
More than 600 volunteers will participate in the week-long program that brings together nearly 400 veterans with disabilities through adaptive winter sports. The clinic is organized by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Disabled American Veterans.
