I-70 through Glenwood Canyon reopens to traffic Saturday morning

Interstate 70 done Glenwood Canyon reopened Saturday greeting with a heavy damaged agelong successful the Blue Gulch country being constricted to 1 lane successful each direction. In a tweet, the Colorado Department of Transportation updated the presumption of the roadway that had experienced damaging mudslides.

Engineering teams completed ocular inspections astir Blue Gulch this past week and it’s “structurally dependable to support 1 lane successful each direction,” said Keith Stefanik, CDOT lawman incidental commander, astatine a Friday quality conference.

❗️TRAVEL UPDATE | ONE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION OPEN – Glenwood Canyon ❗️
⚠️ UPDATE – 7:05 a.m. (8/14/21) – I-70 Glenwood Canyon is OPEN – I-70 Glenwood Canyon is unfastened some eastbound and westbound from MP 116 (Glenwood Springs) to MP 133 (Dotsero). pic.twitter.com/6T90FoGu7a

— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT) August 14, 2021

Drivers should expect reduced speeds connected the road done the canyon, with apical speeds arsenic debased arsenic 35 mph on immoderate stretches arsenic repair and operation enactment continues, said Shoshana Lew, CDOT enforcement director.

“Take bonzer attraction successful an progressive enactment zone,” Lew said. “Mind the cone zone.”

CDOT crews volition proceed to show for inclement upwind and whitethorn adjacent the road again if conditions are deemed unsafe, officials said.

On the westbound extremity of the canyon, crews person focused connected washing and cleaning operations from No Name to the Hanging Lake Tunnel. On the eastbound extremity of the canyon, crews person focused connected moving ungraded down a obstruction and exposing and cleaning drains. Crews person been hauling retired hundreds of loads of debris and taking it to a impermanent dump tract astatine Bair Ranch and connected Colorado 82.

Emergency repair plans and specifications person been distributed to astir a twelve contractors and CDOT expects task bids by Thursday, Stefanik said. CDOT plans to grant contracts connected Friday with semipermanent operation starting connected Monday, August 23.

CDOT officials anticipation to person the full canyon agelong backmost to afloat capableness and normal, pre-damage levels by Thanksgiving.

The Grizzly Creek Rest Area volition not unfastened instantly arsenic determination is presently nary powerfulness to the country and the Hanging Lake Rest Area volition stay closed until it is cleared to reopen by the U.S. Forest Service. The Bair Ranch Rest Area volition stay closed to the nationalist and beryllium utilized arsenic a CDOT exigency area. The No Name and Shoshone remainder areas volition beryllium reopen connected Saturday erstwhile the road reopens.

CDOT officials connected Friday said that astir $1 cardinal has been spent truthful acold and they expect last costs, erstwhile enactment is finished astir Thanksgiving, to beryllium astir $116 million.

Work, repairs and the postulation travel volition stay upwind dependent, road officials said, arsenic rains implicit the Grizzly Creek occurrence could origin new, further mud, stone and debris slides. The canyon has been unopen down since July 31. When the road reopens Saturday afternoon, 2 lanes volition beryllium disposable successful each absorption done astir of the canyon.