I-70 Remains Closed Through Glenwood Canyon Due to Rockfall Just West of Hanging Lake Tunnel

February 16, 2016 - Northwestern Colorado/CDOT Region 3 - GARFIELD COUNTY – Interstate 70 remains closed in Glenwood Canyon following a large rockfall incident that occurred early Monday morning (about 2:30 a.m.), February 15.

Colorado Department of Transportation crews were able to flag traffic throughout the day Monday as they worked to clear boulders. A second slide incident in the same location (mile point 124.2, directly west of Hanging Lake Tunnel and eight miles east of Glenwood Springs) occurred at 9:03 p.m. last night, Monday, February 15.

At 10:07 p.m. Monday night, CDOT fully closed I-70 through the canyon for safety. CDOT’s Geohazards team is on site and also evaluating the location from helicopter. There is roadway, retaining wall, bridge/guardrail damage that will also be assessed and reported in a later release.

There was a semi-truck caught in the slide last night and disabled; no injuries were reported. With the help of the Colorado State Patrol this morning, crews have cleared out any remaining semi-trucks that were stuck in the canyon. All passenger vehicles were cleared out last night.

TRAFFIC THROUGH THE CANYON - The average daily traffic for Glenwood Canyon is around 300 vehicles per hour. Around the evening of the incident the average traffic was about 150 per hour; the volume starts to drop off significantly after 11:00 p.m. to less than 100 vehicles per hour.

TRAVEL IMPACTS/ALTERNATE ROUTE:  It is undetermined at this point in time when the interstate will reopen. The 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. Please always check www.cotrip.org for roadway conditions before heading out.

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