Rockfall Work Progresses on US 550 South of Ouray

January 19, 2014 - Southwestern Colorado/CDOT Region 5 - Rope anchors set today, tomorrow; Red Mountain Pass to remain closed into this week.

OURAY COUNTY – Technical climbers from Rigging for Rescue in Ouray assisted CDOT and Yenter Companies today by rigging a ropes path from the top of the steep slope down towards the highway. They will continue rigging tomorrow to reach the roadway below so that rock scalers from Yenter can continue bringing rocks down from the talus slope (or scree field). If all goes well a helicopter will drop netting onto the scree field, possibly Tuesday, and Yenter crews can begin to bring down larger boulders below the field.

Progress on Tuesday could help determine an estimated reopen date.

ALTERNATE ROUTE: From Ouray to Durango (a distance of 70 miles using US 550) motorists will instead use SH 62 from Ridgway over Dallas Divide, SH 145 over Lizard Head Pass, then US 160, for a trip of about 154 miles. For information on other CDOT projects, the public may call 511 or log onto CDOT’s traveler information web site at www.cotrip.org. Better yet, sign up to receive email and/or text messages by going to CDOT’s web site at www.coloradodot.info and choosing the green phone icon in the upper right corner.