DENVER (KDVR) – The Colorado Department of Transportation’s data shows that the worst crash areas are the ones Denver metro drivers all know and fear for their congestion and hazard. A series of crashes during the week of Oct. 12 is a good reminder to stay safe in the commuter highway zones that surround Denver.

This week, Interstate-70 shut down entirely for several hours following a serious crash at Quebec Street, a fatal bicycle crash near 49th Street and Kipling Street, and head-on collision on Highway 285.

CDOT charts traffic patterns on highway sections and main thoroughfare intersections. The most recent data covers the five years between the beginning of 2015 and the last day of 2019.

State data predictably shows the areas nearest to commuting areas as the most crash prone.

Specifically, the areas rated worst by CDOT are I-25 between Park Avenue and 20th Street, I-25 between 20th Street and Auraria Parkway, I-70 between Quebec and Steele Streets, I-25 between Mulberry and Santa Fe, 6th Avenue between Sheridan Boulevard and I-25.

Together, these five highway stretches account for 33,000 crashes and 60 fatalities in the last five years.

CDOT breaks its metrics into crashes that result in property damage only, crashes that create injuries, and fatal crashes.

The five heavy crash areas generally follow the same groupings. Proportions of fatal, injurious and damaging crashes to the total are consistent.

Interstate-25 from Mulberry Street to Santa Fe Drive – a commute superway – produced more crashes than any other area in the state, followed closely by the stretch of I-25 just north of it between 20th Street and Auraria Parkway.

Along with the stretch of Interstate-70 just north of downtown between Steele and Quebec Streets, these three freeway areas have produced a collective 42 crash deaths in the last five years.