A massive rock slide across a western Colorado highway on Wednesday morning has prompted a closure of the route that is expected to last at least into the weekend.
More than 100 tons of debris tumbled onto Colorado 133 near Paonia at about 8:15 a.m. Wednesday. The Colorado Department of Transportation says the incident caused extensive damage to the roadway’s surface and an adjacent concrete barrier.
Colorado 133 spans between Carbondale and Hotchkiss and sees more than 1,100 vehicles each day, 6 percent of which are trucks.
CDOT says its geohazard unit is working with a contractor to determine the extent of rock scaling operations needed to mitigate any future rock slides and protect the safety of work crews and the traveling public.
“Yenter Companies, Inc. has mobilized equipment to the site and once rock scaling operations are complete the contractor will begin downsizing and hauling debris from the site,” CDOT said Thursday. “Crews are shooting for a possible Saturday opening of the highway.”
Motorists can detour around the closure on Interstate 70 to the north and U.S. 50 to the south. The detour routes can add up to three hours of travel.
Closure of CO 133 S of McClure Pass @ mm 29.5 will be long term (closed indefinitely) b/c major rock slide,alt rte I-70 & US 50
— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT) October 19, 2016
A February rock slide on Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon closed the route completely for several days and prompted delays that lasted weeks.
CDOT workers tasked with keeping mountain highways safe have increasingly sophisticated technology at their disposal. But while officials can install webs of steel netting, use laser sensors and visually check potentially unstable slopes, they say it’s impossible to completely mitigate hidden dangers.
