Glenwood Canyon

Just after midnight, on March 8, a large rockfall incident hit I-70 in Glenwood Canyon, near mile marker 125 just west of Hanging Lake Tunnel.  The rockslide on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2004, was in the same general area, though rocks came from a different location on the hillside. 

This slide brought down boulders onto the interstate ranging in size from 3 feet to10 feet in diameter.  The largest was estimated to weigh about 66 tons.  The rocks made holes in the elevated sections of roadway; the largest being in the westbound lanes (closest to the hillside) and measured 16 feet  by 10 feet.  Another hole in the lower eastbound lanes measured 6 feet by 6 feet.  There were a half a dozen other holes and "dips" in the roadway, as well as areas where rocks are embedded.  Most of the repair areas were approximately 5 feet by 5 feet.  Rocks were scattered over 100 yards of roadway.  Also damaged were three sections of steel guard rail and median barrier.  The damage is similar to that resulting from the 2004 rockfall incident. 

Because of the rockfall, I-70 was closed in both directions for several days to all traffic at Glenwood (mm 116) and at Dotsero (mm 133).  During this time, CDOT blasted and broke up the larger boulders for heavy equipment to be able to clear the road in addition to follow up rockfall mitigation including blasting and scaling to remove residual loose material from the slope.  Alternate routes around the area included the use of State Highways 13, 9, and 131 and US Highways 40, 50, 131, 160, and 285.