Central 70 project manager: I-70 flooding issues in Denver were due to automatic drain pump error

The project manager on the Central 70 project says they regret that so many drivers were stranded during Sunday's flash flooding. The construction company Kiewit told CBS4 on Monday that flooding along Interstate 70 near York Street occurred due to a error in the automatic drain pump.

The Colorado Department of Transportation directed all media questions to Kiewit on Monday, which issued the following statement:

At around 7 p.m. on August 7, a Kiewit Superintendent on the Central 70 Project observed flooding on 46th South Avenue in the work zone and on I-70. Proper notification protocols were then followed to begin mobilizing crews to help pump excess water out of the lowered section of I-70. Kiewit regrets that many motorists became stranded in flood water around the Central 70 Project. We are grateful to the Denver Fire Department for their quick and effective response and that no injuries were reported.
An error in the drainage pump system appears to have prevented the pumps from turning on automatically. Once this was determined Kiewit turned the pumps on manually. After the pumps turned on, the area was drained in a short period of time indicating that the pumps, once manually started, were working as intended and the error was corrected.
The drainage system of the project isn't complete, but we are confident it can and should work properly to successfully handle this and other more significant rain events. We are working with CDOT to investigate exactly why this event occurred and to improve our protocols so we can effectively manage future rain events during construction and after completion. Until the final investigation is completed and results are available within the month, we have put processes in place to ensure the pumps will turn on properly for future weather events to avoid issues like this in the future. The team is also investigating all areas along the corridor to ensure they are functioning properly.
Safety is always our top priority both during construction and after completion and we are committed to delivering a quality product for motorists and the community.

Denver Fire says it responded to more than 20 calls related to water rescues on Sunday night.

"In my career I've only been a part of one other night that felt like that," said Lieutenant JD Chism with Denver Fire.

Chism says the calls were spread out over nine different areas across Denver.

"I-70 and York was probably our largest single location -- we had 11 people that were rescued or assisted by firefighters out of that location where they were stuck whether they were on top of there cars or waiting in their vehicles," Chism continued, "38th and Blake was our next largest, there were 8 people that were removed from a minivan there at 38th and Blake so that was another large single location."

Kiewit says it is in the process of reaching out to the motorists involved in the flooding near York and I-70 to determine what damages occurred.