Crews to Close I-70 at Fall River Road for Rockfall Mitigation Tuesday, May 16

IDAHO SPRINGS—From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 16, crews will close eastbound and westbound Interstate 70 from Fall River Road to Dumont as they blast rock. Drivers may experience up to one-hour traffic delays.

CDOT will also close the frontage roads near the blasting site for additional safety precautions. Frontage roads could be closed up to an hour as well.

Rock Blast in Dumont: May 11, 2017

Crews successfully completed a blast last week.

Background

CDOT is conducting mitigation work in response to a minor rockslide that occurred on westbound I-70 at Fall River Road in early April. CDOT's geohazards team inspected the slide and determined that mitigation work is necessary to reduce the risk of a slide in the same area in the future.

Starting the week of May 8, CDOT began rockfall mitigation on I-70 at Fall River Road, just west of Idaho Springs. Work is scheduled to continue through June.

Crews are drilling the rock face from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, to release air pockets and loosen rock. This work, which allows for a more productive blast, does not require a lane closure and is safe for the traveling public to drive past. Once a week, crews need to blast the rock face to release loose rock, which require full closures as described above.

Media Contacts

CDOT asks the media to please reach out to either Stacia Sellers or Tamara Rollison before entering the closure so they can work to find a safe location for reporting.