CDOT Shares New Drone Footage of Glenwood Canyon Mudslide
Colorado Governor Jared Polis says it could be a full two weeks or more before I-70 can reopen in Glenwood Canyon.
We've collected some of the most recent footage released this week to show you what crews are dealing with. We've also collected a photo gallery of the damage below, as some of these images just need to be looked at for more than a few seconds as it helps to understand the severity of these events.
See Drone Footage of the Glenwood Canyon I-70 Closure
Drone footage from the Colorado Department of Transportation shows just how big a mess the crews have to deal with. See for yourself in the video footage below.
See Governor Jared Paris Press Conference About the I-70 Closure
Governor Polis said Monday that the closure could last two weeks or longer, or, that it might be cleaned up in a few days. It all depends on the degree of difficulty crews encounter while they make progress with the cleanup.
CDOT Strongly Suggests Northern Alternate Route
CDOT has been great about getting updates out about the closures in Glenwood Canyon. Right now, I-70 remains closed due to damage from the most recent heavy rains and flooding that took place on Saturday evening.
CDOT recommends taking I-70 around Glenwood Canyon by using the northern alternate route via I-70, to CO 9 to US 40 to CO 13.
Motorists traveling from Denver should exit I-70 at Exit 205 (Silverthorne) and head north on CO 9 towards Kremmling. Then, continue West on US Highway 40 before heading South o CO 13 to complete the detour and return to I-70 at Rifle. We provide a more detailed walkthrough of this detour here.
Truckers are urged to take 1-80 through Wyoming instead of trying to navigate the detours in Colorado. COtrip.org remains another great resource for finding ways around the mess.
Damage to I-70 'Unlike Anything Seen Before
In a post to social media yesterday, CDOT crews said the damage to the viaduct structure was "unlike anything they had ever seen before". Watching the video at the top of the page makes that much easier to understand. It looks awful. As someone who just moved to Grand Junction, I have no idea how my movers will get to town with all my stuff. I hope they enjoy long detours. See additional footage of the clean-up below.