Interstate 70 was closed Thursday in Glenwood Canyon for about eight hours after a rock slide left one-ton boulders on the road’s westbound lanes.
The slide happened near the Hanging Lake Tunnel at about 8:30 a.m., according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. The falling rocks forced the interstate’s closure between Dotsero and Glenwood Springs.
CDOT said the highway was reopened for passenger vehicles at 4:20 p.m.
Guy Patterson, who was heading west through the canyon when the slide began, called the sight “pretty awesome.”
“The rocks let loose maybe a thousand feet up the canyon wall,” he said. “I came through the Hanging Lake Tunnel (and) as soon as I got out you could see the dust and some debris still falling.”
Officials in Glenwood Springs that a CDOT geological hazard crew is en route to assess the situation.
“There’s still some movement on the slope,” CDOT spokeswoman Tracy Trulove told the newspaper, adding that seven to eight one-ton boulders fell onto the interstate.
The Colorado State Patrol said roads around the closure were clogged with traffic as motorists sought detours.
Jim Hucks, of Boulder, of traffic on Independence Pass south of Aspen apparently heightened by the shuttered interstate.
There were no reports of injuries in the slide.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
