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The I-70 Mudslides: CDOT Re-Opened Highway Through Glenwood Canyon On August 14

CDOT paving crews restoring a section of damaged highway at mile marker 123.5 in Glenwood Canyon on Aug. 13.
Colorado Department of Transportation
CDOT paving crews restoring a section of damaged highway at mile marker 123.5 in Glenwood Canyon on Aug. 13.

Saturday, August 14 I-70 re-opened through Glenwood Canyon at about 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, ahead of the expected timeline. "Our team has worked tirelessly to get Glenwood Canyon on I-70 opened as soon as possible and we have made each minute count," Governor Jared Polis announced this morning. "I’m thrilled that we are delivering a few hours ahead of schedule." The interstate, closed since July 29, re-opened with two lanes of traffic in each direction between Glenwood Springs and Gypsum, with the exception of one lane in each direction at mile 123.5 where the largest debris flow occurred. See cotrip.org for the latest status of I-70, as rain, or the threat of rain, can spur periodic closures.

Friday, August 13 Colorado Department of Transportation officials said Friday afternoon that they expect to have I-70 through Glenwood Canyon open “no later than” Saturday afternoon, Aug. 14. Motorists can expect to find two lanes open in each direction, except for one section at mile marker 123.5, where traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction. CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew said motorists should drive with care tomorrow and be aware they will be driving through an active workzone. After the highway opens, it could be closed again periodically, both for construction and for rain events which could still cause additional mudslides.

Wednesday, August 11 Governor Jared Polis and Colorado Department of Transportation Executive Director Shoshana Lew announced today that I-70 through Glenwood Canyon would reopen Saturday afternoon. The Governor was on site this morning observing mudslide areas and ongoing operations to clear the road of debris. Gov. Polis acknowledged that there is still much work to do before Saturday's reopening, and that CDOT crews had already removed thousands of tons of debris from the interstate since it closed late last month during heavy rain and mudslides. CDOT officials said they plan to reopen one lane in each direction while they continue work in the canyon.

Governor Jared Polis observes areas impacted by mudslides in Glenwood Canyon on Wednesday.
Colorado Department of Transportation
Governor Jared Polis observes areas impacted by mudslides in Glenwood Canyon on Wednesday.

Tuesday, August 10 Governor Jared Polis’s office announced Tuesday that the Federal Highway Administration had approved $11.6 million for Colorado. That comes one day after state leaders asked the federal government for $116 million to deal with the aftermath of the mudslides that closed I-70 late last month in Glenwood Canyon. Governor Polis had requested the initial funds through the agency’s quick-release process. Almost half of the total funding would help create a safer detour around the canyon over Cottonwood Pass between Glenwood Springs and Gypsum. CDOT says crews have continued to make progress on debris cleanup thanks to good weather. Agency officials also said engineers were able to conduct assessments on the road, and believe that once more debris is removed, both eastbound and westbound sides of the interstate will be able to open to one lane of traffic in each direction. There is still currently no timeline for reopening.

Monday, August 9 Good weather allowed work crews to make progress on road cleanup in Glenwood Canyon this weekend; CDOT officials said that 440 loads weighing 13 tons each of debris was hauled out of the area on Saturday and Sunday. Cleanup operations will continue today between Hanging Lake and Bair Ranch, and CDOT officials say engineers will be accessing some of the areas now clear of debris to conduct inspections.

Friday, August 6 Governor Jared Polis today issued a disaster declaration for Glenwood Canyon. Polis announced his intent to issue the declaration at a press conference earlier this week in response to mudslides and debris flows from heavy rain that covered the interstate last week. The disaster declaration authorizes the use of the Colorado National Guard for traffic control and debris removal. It also activates the State’s Emergency Operations Plan and provides additional funding to deal with the road damage and debris removal. The State Emergency Operations Plan has a team in place, and CDOT has formed an Incident Command team to respond to the incident. Governor Polis's office is in the process of filing for federal disaster assistance in addition to emergency state funding.

Thursday, August 5 Some local business owners are concerned about the ongoing closure of I-70 in Glenwood Canyon after mudslides last week. The closure cut off one of the main entry points to the city of Glenwood Springs; roughly 75% of tourists in Glenwood Springs arrive on the westbound I-70 freeway. Lodges are reporting cancellations of reservations because people believe they can’t get to Glenwood. Some restaurants are also seeing delays in food delivery. Tourism Director Lisa Langer fears that people will forgo their trips because they think the detours are a bad option, but she added that detours can be a good thing.

Colorado Department of Transportation

"It’s the road less traveled. You get to see a lot of Colorado that you wouldn’t see otherwise. Add a couple of extra hours to your trip and just enjoy the ride," Langer said.

Glenwood Springs was experiencing a record season before the closure. The city was up 30% to 40% of its visitors from July of 2019. The Glenwood Springs Tourism office will shift some of its marketing West to attract more tourists from Grand Junction and beyond.

Meanwhile, after several days of heavy traffic over Independence Pass, the Colorado Department of Transportation is now discouraging drivers from using the mountain pass as a route around Glenwood Canyon. CDOT says they are coordinating with Google and Apple Maps to show the pass as closed, but the state agency also says "the highway is open to local traffic."

The move is unconventional, but Elise Thatcher with CDOT said it’s not meant to be deceptive, and that the goal is to prevent unprepared drivers and large vehicles from being routed onto a “rural, challenging mountain highway with limited cell service.”

"Last fall during or immediately after the Grizzly Creek Fire closure on I-70 in Glenwood Canyon, two people died when they were driving on Independence Pass and had an accident," Thatcher said. "That is not acceptable. So, it's incredibly important for CDOT to make sure that situation does not happen again.”

Thatcher says there was a miscommunication between CDOT and Pitkin County on Wednesday afternoon when the county sent out an alert and Twitter post announcing the pass was closed due to mudslides.

CDOT has confirmed there were no mudslides and says the pass is open to local traffic for the duration of the Glenwood Canyon closure.

Drone footage of I-70 Glenwood Canyon damage from mudslides

Tuesday, August 3 Governor Polis announced at a press conference yesterday that he would be issuing a state disaster declaration for Glenwood Canyon, where a mudslide last Thursday blocked the road and temporarily stranded motorists. The governor also says his office is preparing to request a federal disaster declaration. Polis said that cleanup is ongoing, but detailed some of the issues faced by crews.

"We won’t be fully aware of the extent of the structural damage until some of the debris is cleared," he said. "There are areas that are under 10 feet or more of mud at this point.”

Weather has continued to impact the canyon and complicate cleanup efforts, and more rain and hail is in the forecast in the days and weeks to come. The governor said there is currently no time estimate on reopening the highway, and that drivers should expect the canyon to remain closed for a few days to a few weeks. He added that crews will initially reopen the road to one lane in both directions. Polis also addressed the role of extreme weather events due to climate change in the ongoing situation in Glenwood Canyon.

“The average monthly rainfall for the entire month of July in Glenwood Canyon: 2.4 inches. We had nearly twice that rainfall over 5 days. So, it was a combination of the burn scar and the threat of the mudslides with a near record amount of rain in a very short period of time,” he said.

CDOT is telling cross country motorists and truckers to avoid Colorado altogether and take I-80. Meanwhile, the agency is urging drivers to take the alternate routes listed on cotrip.org for travel within the state to avoid bottleneck on other mountain passes.

Road closures and increased traffic are not the only side effects from the recent mudslides; the City of Glenwood Springs has new outdoor water restrictions in place through Wednesday (Aug. 3) evening. Residents cannot water their lawns, wash their cars or fill their pools because operations at the city's water treatment facilities have slowed down significantly in order to safely treat the drinking water. That’s because the city gets some of its water from No Name Creek and the Roaring Fork River, which were both impacted by mud and debris from heavy rains falling on the Grizzly Creek and Lake Christine burn scars.

Friday, July 30 I-70 through Glenwood Canyon remains closed due to several large mudslides that trapped travelers in the area during heavy rainstorms on Thursday night. Heavy rain continued through the weekend, and the Colorado Department of Transportation is now telling drivers to prepare for an extended closure due to the latest round of flooding and debris flows.

Several large mudslides buried the road and stranded travelers after heavy rains quickly swept through the Grizzly Creek burn area Thursday night.
Colorado Department of Transportation
Several large mudslides buried the road and stranded travelers after heavy rains quickly swept through the Grizzly Creek burn area Thursday night.

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) reopened I-70 around 6 p.m. Thursday after several safety closures earlier in the evening. A new Flash Flood Warning went into effect around 9 p.m. as heavy rains quickly swept through the area; mudslides and debris reached the interstate within a few minutes.

CDOT crews worked throughout the evening to secure the roadway and assist travelers who were trapped by debris flows, including 29 motorists who sheltered overnight in the Hanging Lake Tunnel. CDOT crews stationed at the agency’s operation center at the Hanging Lake Tunnel also temporarily evacuated. As of Friday afternoon, CDOT had accounted for 108 individuals who had been either evacuated from Glenwood Canyon or taken to a safe zone at the Bair Ranch Rest Area. On Friday evening, rescue crews were still evacuating the remaining 60 to 75 people who were moved to the Bair Ranch Rest Area out of the canyon.

The mudslides were caused by heavy rains falling along burn scars from last summer’s Grizzly Creek Fire. CDOT officials say more mudslides over the weekend caused "extreme damage" to the road, and officials say I-70 will likely remain closed between Exits 87 (West Rifle) and 133 (Dotsero) for an indefinite, extended period of time.

The agency is advising those traveling cross-country to avoid Colorado altogether. They’ve also mapped out a northern alternate route that connects Silverthorne to Rifle. Despite this guidance, Highway 82 over Independence Pass saw periods of bumper to bumper traffic over the weekend. The situation was exacerbated on Sunday night when a car broke down near Lincoln Creek, causing both lanes to close for more than an hour.

Transportation crews continue to clean up the debris scattered across the road and move all abandoned vehicles to safety, but heavy rains are forecast throughout the week. The National Weather Service has also placed the area back under a Flash Flood Watch.

For more information about detours and closures, visit cotrip.org. Motorists can also dial 511 for road updates.

Eleanor is an award-winning journalist and "Morning Edition" anchor. She has reported on a wide range of topics in her community, including the impacts of federal immigration policies on local DACA recipients, creative efforts to solve the valley's affordable housing crisis, and hungry goats fighting climate change across the West through targeted grazing. Connecting with people from all walks of life and creating empathic spaces for them to tell their stories fuels her work.