Colorado ski traffic is notorious. Transit officials have tried myriad ways to improve the flow on I-70 in the mountains: Police pace cars, traffic metering at the tunnels, and staggered releases at the ski resort parking lots.

Now they鈥檙e trying something new. Now they鈥檙e introducing Oleg.

It's just another in a long line of creative Colorado Department of Transportation solutions - .

http://youtu.be/PPlF3akFYWI

Hoping to escape the "Olympic craziness in Sochi," Oleg heads to the Colorado Mountains to find peace and relaxation. Instead he finds the traffic.

鈥淏reak from the tyranny that says you must head home at 4 p.m.,鈥� the visiting (fictional) Russian says.

Oleg is the invention of CDOT鈥檚 new 鈥淧ress Play, Avoid Delay鈥� campaign. By spending an extra hour in the mountains off the pavement, the agency says you can avoid an extra hour in peak traffic - typically between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.

With help from Oleg and special 鈥渙ff-peak鈥� deals at , the ultimate goal is to keep skiers from flooding onto roads all at the same time and causing the massive backups .

Will it work? CDOT and the I-70 Coalition hope so.

鈥淒riving in the mountain is a privilege that many of us take for granted,鈥� CDOT鈥檚 Executive Director Don Hunt said in a recent statement. 鈥淎s someone who lives in the mountain corridor, I know that a number of factors can take an easy drive and turn it into a nightmare.

CDOT is always looking for traffic improvements, but Hunt adds drivers also play a big role in helping traffic run smoothly, from properly inspecting their tires to changing their peak driving time.

It鈥檚 unclear if the ad campaign or the deals will work. But as Oleg says, 鈥渢here鈥檚 no need to be rushin鈥︹€�