CDOT To Expand 'Exploding Egg' Capsule Program To Help With Avalanche Mitigation
CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- They're officially called O'bellX, but their job is to cause a large enough explosive force to start an avalanche and they are egg shaped. So, "exploding egg" it is.
CDOT says between their O'bellX and Gazex instillations, they have 50 remote avalanche exploders across the state, but they're hoping to add to that number.
"It's a long-term goal, in the short term we want to run a safe and efficient transportation system," CDOT Winter Operations Program Manager Jamie Yount explained. "With a long-term goal to retire these projectile-based systems."
The old systems are an "Avalauncher," (basically a very large potato cannon fitted to launch explosives) and two military-grade howitzers. Both require multiple crew members to operate, need daylight to successfully execute the mission, and are less safe than the remote explosive triggers.
"You're doing it from the safety and warmth of a pickup truck, you're warm your hands are warm, you're doing avalanche control without gloves on and it's way less manpower intensive," Yount said.
Aside from keeping operators nice and toasty inside a vehicle, O'bellX can be fired at any time since there is no need to aim. The "eggs" are loaded with oxygen and hydrogen before they are placed in their holders and can fire 20 times before they need to be refilled. A helicopter makes the trip to pick them up and move them to an easily serviceable location, then flies them back up to the spots where avalanches need to be triggered.
With more frequent avalanche mitigation at dark hours of the night with fewer drivers on the road, CDOT hopes to keep the roads clear and safe, no matter the snowpack.
"Kinda one of those things where if we've done our job right, you won't even know we were there," Yount said, laughing.
The "eggs" mix the two gases into a chamber at the base, then a spark plug ignites the mixture, sending a shockwave out the bottom of the egg directly aimed at the snow. With any luck, that shockwave will start a slide.
Right now, CDOT is looking to phase more of these "eggs" into their rotation, but they are costly expenditures compared to the old ways of firing an explosive from the back of the truck. Still, Yount said the state sees the benefit that comes with the remote explosives and is open to transitioning to more "eggs" in the future.
