Rockfall Update – SH 65 Plateau Canyon

March 7, 2014 - Northwestern Colorado/CDOT Region 3 - Crews will work through the weekend; assessment of reopen could come early next week.

PLATEAU CANYON, COLORADO This morning, crews from Yenter Construction are rock scaling in an effort to bring down remaining rocks and boulders perched on the slope above the roadway. Tomorrow, crews will work to demolish the boulders and start moving some of the rock debris out of the area.  Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) crews have estimated there are about 300 tons of rock debris on the roadway and possibly another 300 tons of rock on the hillside.

The debris field contains about a half a dozen boulders about 15 feet by 15 feet (about the size of a large truck) and another larger boulder resting on the guard rail is about 30 feet by 30 feet.

“There is significant road damage and after the team’s assessment of work today and through the weekend, we will have a better idea early next week when the project will be completed,” said TJ Blake, Deputy Superintendent for Region 3. “We will continue to keep the public updated each day on our progress,” he said.

ALTERNATE ROUTE: Motorists can exit I-70 at Exit 62 also known as the DeBeque cut-off road.

To receive real-time updates about road conditions in your area, visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the green cell phone icon in the upper right hand corner of the page. Information about weekly lane closures will be available at www.coloradodot.info/travel/scheduled-lane-closures.html. Live road conditions are available at www.cotrip.org, downloading the CDOT Mobile app or by calling 511 from anywhere in the state. Updates are also available via Twitter @coloradodot and be sure to “Like” our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/coloradodot.