Rock fall shuts major Colorado highway; no word on reopening

In this photo provided by the Colorado Department of Transportation a highway worker examines debris from a rock slide on Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon in western Colorado on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016.

Both directions of Interstate 70 will have intermittent stops on Monday as crews work to remove the boulders.

The slide occurred Monday night on Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon about 125 miles east of the Utah border.

Average daily traffic through the canyon is about 300 vehicles per hour, CDOT said. Highway officials shut down traffic in both directions along 24 miles of highway.

Travelers headed west on I-70 can detour via N CO-131 at Wolcott to WB US-40 at Steamboat Springs to SB CO-13 at Craig to WB I-70 at Rifle.

The drivers of the two semis were not injured in the rock slide that damaged the highway, said Nate Reid, spokesman for the Colorado State Patrol. A second slide also occurred in the same location just after 9 p.m.

It’s unlikely that the highway will be reopened on Tuesday, but beyond that authorities are not estimating how long the highway will be closed, Ford said. No one was hurt in the first incident.

“It could be a long-time closure”, she said.

Some were the size of small cars, she said.

Highway 50 and Highway 40 were suggested as alternative routes by the Colorado Department of Transportation.