Crews Blast Massive Boulder Blocking Southwestern Highway
DOLORES/MONTEZUMA COUNTIES, Colo. (CBS4) - The work of repairing the damage left behind from a rockslide on Friday continued in Rico on Monday. Crews, however, made significant progress and were able to reopen Highway 145 with one alternating lane.
Colorado Department of Transportation crews used explosives to break apart a 2.5 million-pound boulder that came off the hillside and landed on the highway. Another, larger boulder to the tune of 8.5 million pounds crossed the highway and came to rest near the road.
Lisa Schwantes, Region 5 Communications Manager with CDOT, says the crews worked around the clock to get this emergency lane around the original highway that remains blocked, open Monday.
"We are extremely proud of the hard work our road crews accomplished out there this weekend," Schwantes said.
On Sunday, a crew successfully blasted one of the massive boulders that destroyed a section of the highway between Cortez and Telluride.
No one was hurt in the rockslide, but the closure was a major impact on the busy holiday travel weekend.
CDOT officials says the second massive boulder, created an eight-foot trench across both lanes. The work to rebuild the lanes there continues and drivers should expect delays in the area.