Highway 119 Through Boulder Canyon Reopens Ahead Of Schedule

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - Highway 119 in Boulder Canyon is back open after a major rock slide forced it to close on Wednesday. The Colorado Department of Transportation says the rockfall came from a previously scheduled blast and originally they estimated it would take two days to get the slide cleaned up.

That blast was part of the CO 119 flood construction project which will move the roadway onto more bedrock to prevent possible erosion during a major flood.

Crews say a typical blast sends about 400 cubic yards of rock down the canyon, but this blast caused about 8,000 cubic yards of rock to fall onto the road.

For reference, officials say a cubic yard is about the size of a washing machine.

No one was hurt.