RED MOUNTAIN PASS REMINDER
CDOT reminds local southwest Colorado mountain communities and the traveling public that US Highway 550 Red Mountain Pass will remain closed through the weekend.
Weather permitting, avalanche mitigation is planned for tomorrow morning, Saturday, March 9. The current winter storm hitting the area today and tonight is expected todiminish by tomorrow morning. This break in weather should allow for crews to conduct avalanche control work on several mountain passes, including:
- US 550 Molas Pass
- US 550 Red Mountain Pass
- CO 145 Lizard Head Pass
Should mitigation take place, intermittent traffic delays can be expected on Molas and Lizard Head Passes throughout Saturday morning. (Red Mountain will already be in its extended closure.)
Depending upon the results of the slides triggered and amount of snow that comes down onto the highway, CDOT hopes to determine a more accurate opening of RedMountain Pass.
CDOT truly appreciates the patience and support from local residents and visitors to the southwest area.
It's been an epic avalanche year!
Despite the high avalanche warnings issued for the high country, crews have been able to find safe locations to continue snow removal efforts. These photos are of the partial cleanup along the half-mile stretch of the Brooklyns slide on South Red Mountain Pass. Crews continue to chip away at the Brooklyns avalanche slide area which produced an extensive amount of debris, such as limbs and entire trees, when it came down on the highway.
