Crews Work To Clear Independence Pass Of Avalanche Danger
ASPEN, Colo. (CBS4)- Crews continue work to clear snow from Independence Pass and also prevent avalanches-- using bombs thrown from helicopters.
Independence Pass crosses the Continental Divide over the Sawatch Range. It's one of Colorado's most scenic and extreme stretches of highway.
"These are 30 pound turkey bombs that we're throwing out the side," said Colorado Department of Transportation Master Gunner Joe Jimenez when describing the bombs thrown out of the helicopter to trigger snow slides.
Those bombs are detonated remotely.
The avalanche clearing operation is considered necessary before opening the road to traffic by Memorial Day weekend.
"The whole goal of this mission is that when we can open the road we want the traveling public to have a safe drive over and not be threatened by avalanche activity," said Colorado Avalanche Information Center spokesman Brian Lazar.
Despite a lot of snow melt, experts say there remains a significant avalanche danger.
"It's been a fairly cold and snowy spring, so we've seen a lot of avalanches in the storm snow. We've just started to see some of the most wet avalanche activity start to perk up as the temperatures are warming," said Lazar.
The goal is to have the highway open to traffic by May 27.