CDOT continues to assess damage after rockslide in Glenwood Canyon early this morning

February 5, 2019 - Southwestern Colorado

 

GARFIELD/EAGLE COUNTY -Eastbound lanes of I-70, following this morning's rockfall, are currently open but will shut down again in preparation for the staging of a crane for clean up and rockfall mitigation to begin this afternoon. Eastbound will be open again when crane is in place and initial mitigation is complete. CDOT’s hope will be to have one lane westbound open by tonight. There is no estimate on a time for a full reopening of I-70 and intermittent closures may occur as rockfall mitigation continues.  

CDOT crews have been on scene since 1:00 a.m. today after a rockslide in Glenwood Canyon. The rockslide occurred at mile point 120.5 about a half a mile west of the Grizzly Creek rest area.  Currently, CDOT maintenance, geohazard and specialized teams are working on scene.

TRAFFIC IMPACTS:

Closure points for the incident are eastbound Exit 116/Main Glenwood Springs and westbound at Exit 133/Dotsero. Commercial Vehicle truck parking as been implemented at the Dotsero location.

Updates will continue to be posted on CDOT’s traveler information site at www.COTRIP.org

ALTERNATE ROUTES:

Front Range motorists heading westbound

US 40 north (Steamboat Springs) west on US 40 (Craig) south to CO 13 (Rifle)

 

Summit County/westbound motorists

CO 9 (Silverthorne) to US 40 (Steamboat Springs) west on US 40 (Craig) south to CO 13 (Rifle)

 

Eagle County/westbound motorists

The north alternate route for westbound motorists is north on CO 131 at Wolcott to Steamboat Springs, west on US 40 to Craig, then south on CO 13 to Rifle and back to I-70. This is a 203-mile alternate route that will take about three hours and 50 minutes to travel. This detour adds 146 miles and about three hours to a regular trip from Wolcott to Rifle on I-70, which is 67 miles or about 45 minutes.

 

The south alternate route uses US 50. Access to US 50 is available via Grand Junction for eastbound drivers and for westbound drivers by way of US 24/285 through the Salida area from the Front Range.

 

 

Please always check www.COTRIP.org for roadway conditions before heading out. Cottonwood Pass and Independence Pass in Eagle County are both closed and not available as alternate routes. Frying Pan Road and Hagerman Pass are not alternate routes.

 

TRAFFIC THROUGH THE CANYON - The average daily traffic for Glenwood Canyon is around 300 vehicles per hour. Traffic volumes typically drop off significantly after 11:00 p.m. to less than 100 vehicles per hour.

 

STAY INFORMED