I-70 Closed due to rock slide

[Irving]

Hope no one was planning on driving out to Vegas this week (month).

[funkfool]

http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/86849322.html
Interstate 70 remains closed in Glenwood Canyon after a rock slide early Monday morning that left behind huge boulders and gaping holes in the road, and forced the closure of 17 miles of the interstate.
The slide occurred just after midnight near mile marker 125 just west of Hanging Lake Tunnel. I-70 is closed in both directions to all traffic at Glenwood (mm 116) and at Dotsero (mm 133).

CDOT says about 20 boulders rained down onto the interstate, ranging in size from 3 feet to 10 feet in diameter. The largest is estimated to weigh about 66 tons.
The damage is more than extensive; there are holes all over the road, the largest being in the westbound lanes (closest to the hillside) and measuring 20 feet by 10 feet. Another hole in the lower eastbound lanes measures 6 feet by 6 feet. Rocks and boulders are scattered over 100 yards of roadway.
The Colorado Department of Transportation will blast and break up larger boulders throughout the day Monday. Initially, CDOT hoped to have the highway re-opened sometime Monday afternoon, they're now saying there's no estimated time for the road to reopen.
Amazingly, troopers say no one was injured in the slide and no cars were in the area at the time of the slide.

[Marlin]

It'll just be like the old days... A lifetime ago, I work for a place that had the lighting contract for the 7-11's in the state. once in awhile, I'd get the GJ run.. wait about a hour going west.. wait a hour going east.. Was long gone from the job before they got it finished.. So I have yet to drive "straight" through...

[funkfool]

More on this:
9NEWS

[Irving]

You went from awesome pictures, to just some words, and now to just a link? I guess you're only willing to spoon feed us for so long eh?

[funkfool]

Stuart...
My you are perceptive... my tricks exposed...
The theory of diminishing returns...
Grab their attention with the bold, keep 'em interested with the mundane and then slap their face with the simplistic....

[funkfool]

Large interactive Map of the area.
Lookit the pretty rocks....

[funkfool]

By Kevin Flynn
Inside-Lane.com
A huge rockslide early Monday morning in Glenwood Canyon closed Interstate 70 in both directions between Glenwood Springs and Dotsero, forcing a lengthy detour of up to 150 miles for cross-state traffic.
The Colorado Department of Transportation said the slide punctured about a half dozen holes and divots in the two bridges on the west side of the Hanging Lake Tunnels. They carry I-70 over the Colorado River and Union Pacific Railroad, just west of the Shoshone Dam and the ramps that lead in and out of the Hanging Lake trail parking area. The debris was scattered over about a 300-foot length of highway.
I-70 in Glenwood Canyon has average daily traffic of 19,800 vehicles a day, according to CDOT traffic counts. This slide could result in more complicated traffic issues than a similar slide at the same location on Thanksgiving Day 2004. In that case, all of the significant damage was in the westbound lanes, and CDOT was able to restore two-way traffic in about 31 hours by shifting vehicles to one lane in each direction using the eastbound structure. Full repairs took two months.
But in this incident, both westbound and eastbound structures suffered significant damage. CDOT has to assess the situation more fully before deciding on a course of action. It will use its emergency contracting procedures to meet with contractors over the next couple of days as crews develop repair plans.
Some of the boulders were the size of semi-tractors and will have to be broken up with explosives before they can be moved out of the road. One hole in the westbound lanes was estimated to be 10 by 20 feet, said CDOT spokeswoman Mindy Crane. In the eastbound lanes, there was a six-by-six-foot hole. CDOT’s chief spokeswoman Stacey Stegman went to the scene and reported the data back to Crane. There is limited mobile phone service deep in the canyon.
There might have been a foreshadowing of the slide earlier in the weekend. Motorist Chuck Hickey was headed toward the canyon westbound on Saturday morning when he heard a radio traffic report that I-70 westbound was closed at mile marker 125, the exact location of today’s slide, due to rocks. Because Vail Pass was closed by an accident, Hickey detoured at Copper Mountain to Leadville on CO 91, then took U.S. 24 over Tennessee Pass to I-70 at Minturn.
“I had KOA on and they reported it,” Hickey reported on Facebook. “Said it was westbound I-70 closed at MM 125. But when I got back onto I-70 at Minturn, they no longer were reporting it and when I went through there, there were no trucks or anything. But people in Leadville were talking about it when I stopped.”
Crane said the rockslide chute is close to the one that closed the highway five years ago. About 20 boulders are on both sides of the highway, the largest being estimated at 66 tons. They range from three feet to 10 feet in thickness. The rocks also damaged guardrail and concrete barrier along the highway.
The Thanksgiving Day 2004 slide closed the road for a full day and forced a detour of one lane in each direction for two months while repairs were done. That slide punched several holes in the bridge deck including one that was 30 by 15 feet.
Bridges carry I-70's eastbound and westbound lanes out of the west portals of the twin bores. This is where the slide occurred. Photo by Matt Salek, Highways of Colorado.

Those repairs were done by Kiewit Construction under a $681,775 contract that included a bonus for finishing early. CDOT spent a total of $1.2 million on the incident, including clean-up and rock-scaling in the chute to clear out other loose rock.
The new slide occurred around midnight and no one was injured. CDOT has an operations center inside the tunnel that is staffed around the clock to manage traffic. Read an article about the center here.
Detours are daunting to long-distance traffic.
Drivers headed west can exit I-70 at U.S. 40 at Empire, head over Berthoud and Rabbit Ears passes to Steamboat Springs, then back to I-70 at Rifle via Craig and Meeker – a distance of 290 miles, or 150 miles farther than the distance from Empire to Rifle on I-70.
Other detours over CO 9 at Silverthorne or CO 131 at Wolcott add 115 miles and 142 miles, respectively, to the trip.
CDOT crews are assessing the damage before deciding how to proceed.
“We have no estimate as to how long the highway will remain closed at this time,” CDOT spokeswoman Stacey Stegman said. Crews were searching for the source of the rockslide first to determine whether it was safe to be in the area without more rocks coming down.
I-70 through Glenwood Canyon is an internationally acclaimed stretch of roadway that won award for its context-sensitive design and construction. Because of the high unstable cliffs, there are areas prone to rockslides. Read this comprehensive photo-filled feature about the history of I-70 in Glenwood Canyon at Matt Salek’s Highways of Colorado site.

http://www.inside-lane.com/2010/03/0...enwood-canyon/

[Ridge]

It'll just be like the old days... A lifetime ago, I work for a place that had the lighting contract for the 7-11's in the state. once in awhile, I'd get the GJ run.. wait about a hour going west.. wait a hour going east.. Was long gone from the job before they got it finished.. So I have yet to drive "straight" through...

I did a GJ run for Xcel last summer...fell in love with that town. I think I want to move there...

[opie011]

Yea this sucks for me because I have to travel to Rifle, Carbondale, GJ and Delta next week. Well I guess I better start uploading some new tunes...gonna be a long drive!