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Rock Slide Will Keep I-70 In Glenwood Canyon Mostly Shut For Weeks

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Traffic on a stretch of a key east-west highway in Colorado won't be back to normal for weeks after boulders the size of small cars crashed onto the roadway, according to officials who added Wednesday that workers were still finding large amounts of loose rock days after the initial slide.

CDOT Glenwood Canyon rockslide tuesday day pic1
(credit: CDOT)

Monday's slide on Interstate 70 about 125 miles east of the Utah border damaged a tractor-trailer but caused no injuries. The highway has since been shut in both directions from Glenwood Springs in the west to Gypsum in the east, forcing travelers to take detours of up to four hours. The four-lane stretch carries a daily average of 300 vehicles per hour through the canyon, spokeswoman Amy Ford said.

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Earlier Wednesday, the Colorado Department of Transportation, known as CDOT, had said one lane was expected to open Thursday. On Wednesday afternoon, officials said workers were finding so much loose rock that it was unclear the road would be safe for traffic on Thursday. In addition, rain and wind are predicted in the area Thursday.

Ford said travelers should check the transportation department website for proper routes after reports that some drivers used maps and GPS devices to find their own way around the slide and ended up in mountain passes usually closed during the winter.

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Hundreds of cars and several tractor-trailers lined up Tuesday at a gate closing one of those passes, the Post Independent newspaper in Glenwood Springs reported.

Pitkin County sheriff's Deputy Marcin Debski directed traffic at Independence Pass in Aspen and said he had "never seen anything like it."

rock slide
(credit: CDOT)

Tumbling rocks have closed the stretch of I-70 several times in the past. A 2010 rock slide tore gaping holes in an elevated section of the road, closing the canyon for nearly four days and causing food shortages because delivery trucks were not able to reach restaurants and grocery stores.

RELATED: February Thaw Means More Colorado Rock Slides

In 2004, more than three dozen boulders landed on the highway. A slide in 1995 killed three people, and a boulder crashed onto a pickup truck in 1985, critically injuring a 5-year-old boy.

Additional Resources

Read a news release from CDOT that includes more information on the closure, travel impacts and alternate routes.

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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