OURAY, Colo.—The Colorado Department of Transportation is using 30-pound bombs to dislodge rocks that have kept U.S. Highway 550 in southwestern Colorado closed since Jan. 12.
The closure has severed the only direct route from Ouray (yoo-RAY’) to Silverton, normally a 70-mile drive over Red Mountain Pass. A detour over Dallas Divide and Lizard Head Pass adds nearly 100 miles to the trip.
Transportation officials say an average of 2,200 vehicles a day use the highway.
Officials say a giant slab about the size of a football field came loose and crumbled into smaller pieces, punching a hole in the highway.
It’s unusual for slides to occur in the middle of the winter, but days were unseasonably warm, setting up a freeze-thaw cycle that contributed to the slide.
