By Shannon Lukens. Courtesy photos from CDOT.

 

 

Three cameras on Rabbit Ears Pass, operated by Colorado Department of Transportation, aren’t active right now. The last picture seen on the cameras is dated July 24, 2025.

CDOT Regional Communications Manager for Region 3 Northwest, Chuck Marsh, says the contract for operating 136 traffic cameras on the COTrip.org site and app have expired. This is for camera coverage across Colorado.

“We issued a request for bids to renew the services, but only two companies responded – both with costs that were high and not fiscally responsible. As a result, the 136 camera feeds were discontinued and corresponding icons were removed from the COtrip Planner App and COtrip.org to avoid any confusion.”

Marsh says CDOT is building and operating its own permanent, state-owned camera system, but they will only replace 66 of the original 136 cameras. This includes the three cameras near Rabbit Ears Pass: Mile Point 141.6, near Star Ridge Road; MP 147.2, which is about 5.5 miles west of Rabbit Ears Pass, and MP 157.35, near the intersection with CO 14.

Work is expected to be complete by fall of 2027, and until then, there will be a gap in camera coverage.

 

If you go to CoTrip.org, a popup notification statement says:

Camera Alert | Liveview camera removal and service changes

Missing a favorite camera view? On July 20, 2025, 136 vendor managed cameras were removed from COtrip.org. You may notice a gap in coverage while CDOT is actively investing in permanent, reliable camera infrastructure to better serve travelers. Our goal is to minimize the gap in coverage and restore camera visibility as quickly as possible, starting with high-priority areas. A project is underway to install about 66 new CDOT cameras at prioritized locations and camera upgrades are expected to continue through October 2027. Please utilize the Road Conditions layer in COtrip.org to check current travel conditions in places where camera views are not currently available.