GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. - A gigantic, unstable boulder high above Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon has brought emergency repair work on the road to a halt. Crews plan to bring the boulder down, but it won't happen until late Wednesday. And there is still no word on when this main east-west route through the western U.S. will reopen to traffic.
A rockslide early Monday closed the highway. Colorado Department of Transportation says it's too dangerous for crews until the boulder, which is 20 feet in diameter and could weigh 100 tons is brought down from 900 feet above the road.
CDOT workers climbed a steep canyon wall Tuesday to examine the large boulder that's threatening to fall on Interstate 70 in the same area a rockslide seriously damaged the interstate.
Experts will go back up the canyon wall Wednesday and either pry the boulder loose or break it up so it falls in smaller pieces. In any event, it's possible the boulder will cause further damage to the road.
"It's unstable and, for us, the big thing is that when we recognize something like this we can mitigate it under a controlled circumstance," said CDOT rock fall specialist Ty Ortiz, who scaled the canyon wall. "Now is our best time to do it."
About 20 boulders came crashing down onto I-70 in Glenwood Canyon, near Hanging Lake Tunnel, around midnight Sunday, punching several large holes in the elevated highway and compromising its integrity.
No injuries were reported.
Crews were breaking up the fallen boulders with explosives so they could be hauled away.
A 17-mile stretch of I-70 remained closed in Glenwood Canyon from Glenwood Springs to Dotsero.
On Monday, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter declared a disaster emergency for the highway, allowing the state to seek funding from the Federal Highway Administration to help pay for repairs.
Engineers are still developing an estimate of the repair costs. A similar slide in the same area in 2004 cost $1.2 million to repair, including a $700,000 emergency contract with a contractor.
A rockslide early Monday closed the highway. Colorado Department of Transportation says it's too dangerous for crews until the boulder, which is 20 feet in diameter and could weigh 100 tons is brought down from 900 feet above the road.
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UPDATED: I-70 Rockslide Photos
- Glenwood Canyon rockslide location
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Rock and Roll
A major rockslide has closed I-70 in Glenwood Canyon indefinitely.
- Transportation
- Road Transportation
- Colorado
Experts will go back up the canyon wall Wednesday and either pry the boulder loose or break it up so it falls in smaller pieces. In any event, it's possible the boulder will cause further damage to the road.
"It's unstable and, for us, the big thing is that when we recognize something like this we can mitigate it under a controlled circumstance," said CDOT rock fall specialist Ty Ortiz, who scaled the canyon wall. "Now is our best time to do it."
About 20 boulders came crashing down onto I-70 in Glenwood Canyon, near Hanging Lake Tunnel, around midnight Sunday, punching several large holes in the elevated highway and compromising its integrity.
No injuries were reported.
Crews were breaking up the fallen boulders with explosives so they could be hauled away.
A 17-mile stretch of I-70 remained closed in Glenwood Canyon from Glenwood Springs to Dotsero.
On Monday, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter declared a disaster emergency for the highway, allowing the state to seek funding from the Federal Highway Administration to help pay for repairs.
Engineers are still developing an estimate of the repair costs. A similar slide in the same area in 2004 cost $1.2 million to repair, including a $700,000 emergency contract with a contractor.
