Colorado Floods 2013

[andy3175]

The recent rains in Boulder and other Front Range cities and towns have caused loss of life, injuries, and tremendous damage, even as the rains continue.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/12/20450541-a-river-over-my-house-coloradans-take-shelter-as-deadly-floods-sweep-boulder-area?lite

"It's insane right now, I've lived in Colorado my whole life, and this is nothing that I've ever, ever seen before," said Andra Coberly spokesperson for the YMCA in Boulder. "Streets were turned into rivers and streams were turned into lakes." ... The torrential downpours that lashed parts of Colorado drove hundreds of people from their homes, shut down Boulder and the nearby university, and had police and fire responders scrambling all day as they worked to help stranded residents in what they described as a still-developing disaster. ... About 6.8 inches of rain fell over the city in a 24-hour period, according to the National Weather Service. ... The Boulder area was experiencing a 100-year flood, Robert Kimbrough of the US. Geological Survey, told the Daily Camera newspaper.

According to the Denver Post (http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24079187/colorado-flood-evacuations-imminent-big-thompson-canyon), road impacts include:

* Closure of U.S. 34 in the Big Thompson Canyon, including the collapse of the eastbound lane of U.S. 34 near the town of Drake

* Access to Estes Park has been limited or made impossible due to flooding and related damage on U.S. 36 and U.S. 34

* U.S. 36 at Longmont Dam Road was completely destroyed by the floods

* Access to Manitou Springs has been limited made impossible due to flooding and related damage

* Flooding has occurred on multiple streets up and down the Front Range

* Colorado 14 through the Poudre River Canyon is closed, with prior fire damage mixing with rain to create mudslides

More road closures and updates beyond what I've written is available from 9News (KUSA): http://www.9news.com/rss/story.aspx?storyid=354914.

Comparisons have been made in these news articles to the tragic July 1976 flood along U.S. 34 in Big Thompson Canyon which claimed 143 people.

The radar shows rain as of 10 pm PDT on 9/12, and more rain is in the forecast for this area.

Regards,
Andy

[andy3175]

Flooding has extended south into parts of northern New Mexico, and some road closures have been posted in southeastern Wyoming due to the flooding along Colorado's Front Range. This excerpt from the Laramie Boomerang (newspaper):

Travel is restricted south of Cheyenne and Laramie because of flooding in Colorado. The Wyoming Department of Transportation has closed southbound Interstate 25 and U.S. 85 out of Cheyenne and U.S. 287 south of Laramie. The roadways in Wyoming are in good shape, but some road surfaces on the Colorado side have water flowing over them in places and mudslides. I-25 was closed to all traffic Friday afternoon, but emergency traffic and local Colorado residents were permitted to use U.S. 85 and 287 to get home. No commercial vehicle traffic will be allowed at this time.

The Denver Post continues to update on road closures resulting from flooding, including some pictures. See http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24086889/roads-remain-closed-ne-colorado-by-floods-washouts for a list of road closures as of Saturday 9/14. Of course this will change as conditions improve or deteriorate:

Denver C470 to I-25

I-70: I-70 will be closed in both directions from I-76 to I-25 beginning on Saturday, September 14 at 3 am until Sunday, September 15 at 10 pm due to road work. EB I-70 traffic will be detoured to I-76. WB I-70 traffic will be detoured to WB I-76. (from mile marker 259.75 to 274.2)

Denver I-25 to Airpark Rd

I-70: The ramp from I-70 EB to Quebec St is closed. There is no estimated time of opening. Use alternate route (from mile marker 274.2 to 292.0)

Loveland-Estes Park

US 34: Closed Loveland-Estes Park due to flooding. (from mile marker 62.0 to 92.0)

Loveland-Wiggins

US 34: US 34 closed both directions between Greeley and I-76 due to flooding (from mile marker 92.0 to 149.0)

Lyons-Estes Park

US 36: Closed between Lyons-Estes Park due to flooding. (from mile marker 0.0 to 20.35)

Boulder-Lyons

US 36: Closed Lyons-Estes Park due to flooding. (from mile marker 20.35 to 36.34)

Brighton-Greeley

US 85: Closed over the South Platte River in the southern Greeley area due to flooding. (from mile marker 235.0 to 266.0)

US 287 Westminster-Ft. Collins

US 287: The road is closed at the Big Thompson River due to flooding. No estimated time of reopening. US-287 is closed in both directions from Isabella to CO Hwy. 52. (from mile marker 290.0 to 344.0)

Mt. Evans

CO 5: Closed from Summit Lake to the top of Mount Evans. Echo Lake to Summit Lake will remain open until early October, weather permitting. (from mile marker 0.0 to 15.0)

Estes Park-Lyons

CO 7: Closed Lyons-Estes Park due to flooding. (from mile marker 1.0 to 32.0)

US 40-Walden

CO 14: Closed from Walden to Ted's Place due to flooding and rockslides in the area. (from mile marker 1.0 to 50.0)

Cameron Pass

CO 14: Closed from Walden to Ted's Place due to flooding and rockslides in the area. (from mile marker 50.0 to 88.0)

Coal Creek Canyon

CO 72: CO Hwy. 72 is closed in both directions from CO Hwy. 93 to CO Hwy. 119 due to flooding. There is no estimated time of opening. (from mile marker 11.0 to 29.0)

Boulder Canyon

CO 119: Closed due to a rockslide in the area. (from mile marker 25.0 to 45.0)

I-25 to CO 14 Briggsdale

CO 392: CO-392 is closed in both directions from Larimer County Rd 5 - 17th St. in Windsor due to flooding. There is no estimated time of opening (from mile marker 100.0 to 140.0)

Regards,
Andy

[thenetwork]

The floods of the Colorado Front Range, despite the rain ending, are now being felt downstream.  Many of the rivers from Colorado into Wyoming and Nebraska (I-80 & I-76) are now beginning to rise to record levels.

Those traveling (or planning to travel) the I-80/US-30 or I-76/US-6 corridors especially should take note. 

[andy3175]

A particularly hard hit area is Estes Park. From http://www.denverpost.com/2013coloradofloods/ci_24106787/estes-park-could-remain-isolated-an-extended-period:

The heavily damaged main roads leading in and out of town – State Highways 34 and 36 – will remain closed "indefinitely," according to Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Ashley Mohr. ... For now, residents have two ways to get in and out of town: the high-altitude Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park, and the narrow, winding State Highway 7. It's unclear how long the seasonal alpine highway through the park will remain open, connecting Estes Park with Grand Lake, where mail is being held. CDOT engineers attempted to survey damaged areas by helicopter Monday because the roads were inaccessible to vehicles. Large portions of the highways, perhaps 200 or more feet in places, were washed away and bridges were damaged, Mohr said. ... CDOT officials are allowing only "essential visitors," including emergency personnel, delivery trucks and residents into town via State Highway 7, Mohr said. Officials quickly repaired potholes and cleared debris from State Highways 119, 72 and 7 to create the path to Estes Park. The road is not prepared to handle tremendous amounts of traffic, Mohr said. ... The repair and cleanup are only getting under way, but officials are looking forward and planning for the future. Snowfall is only about 30-45 days away, Gaiter said.

Regards,
Andy

[andy3175]

Conditions are improving and roads reopening, although the most seriously damaged roads will take time to repair. See http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/22/20637806-highways-reopening-after-colorado-flood-repairs?lite:

CDOT opened six state highways in northern Colorado on Saturday. Another two were opened on Friday. ... Officials also planned to select emergency contractors soon to begin immediate work on mountain corridors where passage is now limited.
Key highways that have reopened include Colorado 119 between County Line and Interstate 25 in Longmont, and Colorado 72 to Colorado 7 in Estes Park. Officials are trying to reopen a stretch of U.S. Highway 34 in Loveland soon. ... The Colorado National Guard is helping CDOT in building access trails around impassible sites along U.S. Highway 36. More than 200 national guard civil engineers are helping with the effort.

Regards,
Andy

[hm insulators]

Those floods were awful! Best wishes to everybody!

[Mark68]

Governor Hickenlooper has stated that the goal is to have some type of temporary access reopened by December 1 along the US 34 & 36 corridors. This will most likely consist of graded dirt or gravel roads for now, as reconstruction of the roadbeds and roads themselves will take years (I believe after the Big Thompson flooded in 1976, it took 5 years to replace US 34 from Estes Park to Loveland).

This is especially problematic for Estes Park, heavily dependent on tourism, with two access roads...the Peak-to-Peak Highway from the south, and Trail Ridge Road thru Rocky Mountain NP, which will probably be closed off with the first good snow (snowed up there today, but they're probably going to try to maintain/plow it as long as possible). This adds 3 hours (at least) to anyone driving up from Denver. The price tag (just for CDOT, not counting the counties and municipalities) is expected to be well into the nine-figure range.   

[Billy F 1988]

My stepmother's parents live in Greely which is near the hard-hit areas from the floods. I don't know if there are any highways linking to Greely closed.

[Milepost61]

My stepmother's parents live in Greely which is near the hard-hit areas from the floods. I don't know if there are any highways linking to Greely closed.

Not anymore. US 34 east of Greeley was badly damaged but reopened about a week ago.

US 34 in Big Thompson Canyon and highways west of Lyons are the major highways at this point still closed. Repairs probably won't be done until the end of November.

[Mark68]

All of the state roads have been rebuilt, some with no shoulders and reduced speed limits, many of which will be improved upon in the coming years.

Overall, CDOT and the National Guard did good work getting the highways rebuilt (for the most part) by Thanksgiving.

[pctech]

I was in CO. a couple weeks ago. We made the trip from the Denver metro area to  Rocky Mt. National park.
There is still road work in progress along US. 36. It looks like damage from the flooding.

[Milepost61]

Yes, the permanent repair project is still ongoing in that area.