Debris Flow — Central Colorado River Basin, Colorado

2004-11-25 · Central Colorado River Basin, Colorado

Wider weather episode

A massive rockslide punched van-size holes in the decking of Interstate 70 near the Hanging Lake exit ramp, about 8 miles east of Glenwood Springs. The highway was closed in both directions all day on Thanksgiving Day, sending holiday travelers on a 220 mile detour to get through the mountains. The slide zone covered a stretch of Interstate 70 about 100 feet in length and 10 feet deep. According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, two bridges received holes in their decking on eastbound I-70. About six boulders were embedded up to eight feet into the roadway. The rocks fell from about 1,300 feet above the highway, leaving gaping holes up to 25 feet wide and 10 feet long in the westbound lanes. Cracks in the highway were also visible, stretching up to 20 feet from the edge of the mammoth holes. Some boulders had to be blasted apart before front-end loaders could remove them from the highway. One eastbound and one westbound lane were opened the following day. At a construction cost of 1.4 million dollars, repairs were expected to take several months. There were no injuries, mainly due to the fact that the interstate highway in that area just happened to be closed when the rockslide occurred. CDOT crews were still cleaning up after a semi hauling beer overturned the previous evening, less than a mile away from where the rockslide occurred.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5425909. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.