Canyon closure likely until Thursday afternoon

The Colorado Department of Transportation says traffic on a 24-mile stretch of a key east-west highway won’t be back to normal for weeks because of a rock slide.

No one was hurt by the landslide and only one vehicle, a semi-truck, was hit.

During the I-70 closure in 2010, a 55-year-old Craig woman taking a detour was killed when a rock smashed through the roof of her vehicle. CDOT’s Geohazards team is on site and also evaluating the location from helicopter. There were no reported injuries.

Officials with the Colorado Department of Transportation said the large rocks came down onto I-70 shortly after 2:30 Monday morning.

CDOT crews fully closed Interstate 70 after the second slide.

Thursday, CDOT plans to open a single lane.

The road was closed between Glenwood Springs and Gypsum.

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. In Monday night’s slide, some of the initial smaller rocks were enough to knock boulders the size of cars out of place and onto the westbound traffic lanes.

The Napa Auto Parts store in Glenwood Springs was able to get its regular stock shipment in late Monday night, but was told to expect delays until the interstate reopens, sales clerk Sara Bak said.

A rockfall-triggered closure of Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon created inconvenience and frustration for motorists Tuesday, and the aggravation is far from over.

Until then, motorists are encouraged to divert several hours on US 40 to the north. An average of about 300 vehicles ordinarily travel the canyon every hour. CDOT is recommending a detour between Wolcott and Rifle, using Colorado Highway 131, U.S. Highway 40 at Steamboat Springs and Colorado Highway 13 at Craig.

According to CDOT, the detour adds 146 miles and an additional three hours to the trip from Wolcott to Rifle, which normally takes 45 minutes. There’s no estimated re-open time and due to the damage to the roadway and bridges in the area, it could be days before traffic is allowed back on the roadway.