Rock slide closes part of interstate in Colorado
A rock slide punched holes through a vital stretch of the interstate highway system early Monday, cutting off a key artery for Colorado for an unknown time.
The slide at about midnight Sunday closed 17 miles of Interstate 70 from Glenwood Springs to the town of Dotsero in western Colorado. The slide occurred in narrow Glenwood Canyon when boulders the size of tractor-trailers tumbled down the steep slopes and gouged parts of the elevated highway.
“There’s pretty significant damage,” said Stacey Stegman, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation. “It’s a big tourist route and a big trucking route. Because it goes through the mountains, there aren’t a lot of alternatives. It’s going to be a major inconvenience.”
I-70 is the main connection between the West Coast and Denver. It runs through the narrow canyon, following the Colorado River, and then climbs into ski country. After passing through the resort town of Vail, the road tops out at about 11,000 feet before descending to Denver and connecting with the rest of the interstate highway system.
The state Department of Transportation said it did not know how long the route, used by 25,000 drivers daily, would remain closed. Stegman said that one lane in either direction would be opened before the damage is fully repaired.
In the meantime, motorists are advised to take a 200-mile detour through the northwestern part of the state.
The route is no stranger to rock slides. It was closed by a slide in 2004, and another slide in 1995 killed three people.
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