MAJOR Rockslide closes I-70 thru Glenwood Canyon...

[thenetwork]

A major rockslide on Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon, between Glenwood Springs and Dotsero has closed the interstate in both directions, and looks like it will be months before the freeway is fully opened again.

The story from the Denver Post:  http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14633460

Alternate routes are few and far between...

Northern Detour:  From the East, Exit 157 (CO-131 North) or Exit 205 (CO-9 North) to Steamboat Springs, West on US-40 to Craig, then following CO-13 South to Rifle, back to I-70 via Exits 87 or 90.

Southern Detour:  From the West, Exit 26 (US 50 East) to Poncha Springs, then US 285 North to either US 24 West to near Vail (Exit 171), or straight thru US 285 North to C-470 in Denver.

Regardless, unless the weather is good and you know some narrow back roads, plan to add considerable time (Over 2 hours) and mileage (Over 150 Miles) for through traffic on I-70 west of the Divide.

Probably the hardest area to reach by car from Denver is Aspen, since the eastern access to Aspen, CO-82 over Independence Pass is closed for the season.

[Chris]

That is one hell of a detour!

[thenetwork]

It's amazing how a 17-mile section of closed road can create at least a tenfold in detour mileage.  What adds to the fun is the late-winter storms that can crop up (one is affecting the Southern Detour as we speak).

The biggest concern is to get at least the eastbound lanes open to route both directions of I-70 around the slide as soon as possible (which would ultimately be about 5 miles of two-way traffic).   There are early reports that there are holes in the westbound bridge lanes (WB I-70 thru the canyon is mostly a series of bridges) up to 20 feet wide!  Plus they have to see if the bridge(s) is still structurally stable (some rocks that hit the the road/bridge were as big or bigger than a semi-truck).

[corco]

I'd assume the bulk of interstate traffic will head up to I-80 and then down

[thenetwork]

Just to update...

The slide itself wasn't too bad (Not like I-40 in NC), but it was several large rocks that pierced the bridge decks that carried I-70 through that area of Glenwood Canyon (MM 125, just west of the Hanging Lake Tunnels).

The problem with this area, now that I have seen photos on the news, is that the bad news is that both directions are on twin spans, which means that it may take a while to get at least one of the spans open, if both are damaged.  The good news is that the bridges were low to the ground, unlike the majority of the bridges on the Westbound side that go up over 50 feet, so the health of the bridge(s), outside of the gaping holes, are more favorable for a quick repair than extensive rebuilding.

Here are the latest photos of the rocks and some of the damage:  http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_14633690

Another view, looking East:  http://www.aspentimes.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=AT&Date=20100308&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=100309818&Ref=AR&Profile=1077&MaxW=550&title=1

[Hellfighter]

Whoa, that's a huge gap! *Turns onto US-50*

[thenetwork]

That is one hell of a detour!

Look at the US 50 "Southern" Detour!!!

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Grand+Junction,+CO&daddr=Gunnison,+CO+to:Vail,+CO+to:Denver,+CO+to:Hayden,+CO+to:Grand+Junction,+CO&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=39.559118,-106.721191&sspn=2.070842,4.938354&ie=UTF8&ll=39.410733,-106.699219&spn=4.150181,9.876709&z=7

So for the most part, a 4 to 4-1/2 hour trip from Utah to Denver now turns into an 8-hour affair.

[tmthyvs]

That is one hell of a detour!

Look at the US 50 "Southern" Detour!!!

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Grand+Junction,+CO&daddr=Gunnison,+CO+to:Vail,+CO+to:Denver,+CO+to:Hayden,+CO+to:Grand+Junction,+CO&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=39.559118,-106.721191&sspn=2.070842,4.938354&ie=UTF8&ll=39.410733,-106.699219&spn=4.150181,9.876709&z=7

So for the most part, a 4 to 4-1/2 hour trip from Utah to Denver now turns into an 8-hour affair.

Make it 6. You can do the southern detour Denver to Grand Junction in 6 hours, but you don't go through Vail. Instead, take US 50 to US 285 and US 285 to Denver. The route through Vail would just be stupid. If you want to get back on I-70 sooner, you'd be better off taking CO-91 from Leadville to Copper Mountain, rather than US-24 to Minturn--you reduce the mileage significantly and get back on the interstate sooner.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Grand+Junction,+CO&daddr=Gunnison,+CO+to:Vail,+CO+to:Denver,+CO+to:Hayden,+CO+to:Grand+Junction,+CO&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=39.559118,-106.721191&sspn=2.070842,4.938354&ie=UTF8&ll=39.410733,-106.699219&spn=4.150181,9.876709&z=7

By the way. the time Google maps estimates for this is ridiculous.

[hm insulators]

I was just watching this on the Weather Channel a little while ago, and those were some big holes in the roadbed. Can see the rebar, etc. I joked to myself that it looked like a typical freeway in Los Angeles.

[tmthyvs]

The Denver Post is reporting that the eastbound lanes have been reopened for one lane in each direction.

[Terry Shea]

I travelled thru there on Sunday.  Both sets of lanes are now open.  Judging from the number of rocks in the river, rockslides must happen almost non-stop along this stretch.  I couldn't even see the water in the river bed in places because rocks were piled up so high and far.

[usends]

Judging from the number of rocks in the river, rockslides must happen almost non-stop along this stretch.  I couldn't even see the water in the river bed in places because rocks were piled up so high and far.

You may be referring to the stretch of river near the Shoshone power plant.  Most of the water in the river gets diverted out of the channel at that point, leaving nothing but boulders.  More info on this page...
http://www.mesalek.com/colo/glenwood/guide.html
...although the author makes it sound like an unusual phenomenon, my experience is it's almost always like that (except during spring runoff).

[Terry Shea]

Judging from the number of rocks in the river, rockslides must happen almost non-stop along this stretch.  I couldn't even see the water in the river bed in places because rocks were piled up so high and far.

You may be referring to the stretch of river near the Shoshone power plant.  Most of the water in the river gets diverted out of the channel at that point, leaving nothing but boulders.  More info on this page...
http://www.mesalek.com/colo/glenwood/guide.html
...although the author makes it sound like an unusual phenomenon, my experience is it's almost always like that (except during spring runoff).

Okay, that makes sense.  It was about a mile or so west of the recent rockslide.  It looked like the rocks had just piled up over the water.

[texaskdog]

Glad this is an OLD post, looking forward to a trip in 6 months

[empirestate]

It is old, but your reply having bumped it to the top of my list made me think "Oh geez, not AGAIN!!"

[texaskdog]

It is old, but your reply having bumped it to the top of my list made me think "Oh geez, not AGAIN!!"

Ha ha yeah I went into a panic...we have to get from Moab to Estes Park in one day