Both eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 70 reopened Saturday evening in Glenwood Canyon after a debris flow from the Grizzly Creek fire burn scar shut down traffic for several hours.
Colorado Department of Transportation officials said westbound lanes opened back shortly after 10:00 p.m. between exit 133 (Dotsero) and exit 116 (Glenwood Springs) because of a mudslide described as mostly a “soupy,” muddy mess with some rocks.
CDOT’s northwest Colorado communications manager, Elise Thatcher, said the flow started around 3 p.m. on the westbound lanes, spreading to about 70 feet wide and 5 to 7 feet deep. CDOT plans to work into the night, using heavy equipment to remove debris from the westbound lanes.
No injuries were reported in the initial debris flow, and no vehicles were buried, Kane Schneider, CDOT deputy maintenance superintendent, said.
Schneider said crews were using front-end loaders, dump trucks and other equipment to remove the debris and clean the road. He said removing the debris can be challenging because with every scoop more mud flows into the area that was scooped. Once the muddy mix stops flowing in, Schneider said, crews can make quicker progress on the cleanup.
“With this overnight work, we’ll know more tomorrow morning how much of the flow is still on the road,” Thatcher said. “We have to make sure we’re safely assessing what we can remove.”
Motorists were asked to use alternate routes through the area during the closure.
The alternate route was taking motorists on Colorado 9 at Silverthorne to U.S. 40, west through Steamboat Springs and Craig to Colorado 13, then south through Meeker, rejoining I-70 at Rifle. It’s a distance of about 250 miles, adding about four hours to the trip.
I-70 WB: Road open between Exit 133 – Dotsero and Exit 116 – CO 82; Glenwood Springs. All lanes are now open. https://t.co/CIdTyY2c8U
— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT) June 27, 2021
🚫Westbound I-70 CLOSED🚫 between Exit 133 (Dotsero) and Exit 116 (CO 82, Glenwood Springs) due to a mudslide in the area. There is no estimated time of reopening and motorists are asked to use alternate routes. pic.twitter.com/BGJ3Gj8Izq
— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT) June 26, 2021
#BREAKING: I-70 CLOSED both EB/WB through #GlenwoodCanyon from mile point 116/Main Glenwood Exit to Exit 133/Dotsero.
This is due to a debris flow from the Grizzly Creek Fire. pic.twitter.com/9QSBtJlcOe
— CSP Eagle (@CSP_Eagle) June 26, 2021
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I-70 opens back up through Glenwood Canyon after mudslide - The Denver Post
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