Highway 24 Reopens Near Minturn After Rock Mitigation Completed
ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - A Colorado highway has reopened after recurring rock slides damaged the road.
Highway 24 between Minturn and Redcliff had to be closed this week as crews worked on the boulders high above. The detour for some drivers was nearly 2 hours for what should normally be a 20-minute drive.
Last April nearly 200 tons of rock came crashing down -- boulders so big that they had to be exploded into smaller pieces for cleanup.
A rare mid-winter rock slide occurred in December in the same location. Colorado Department of Transportation crews said they've had problems the past three weeks because of the freeze-thaw cycle.
"Water gets in, freezes up, wedges out so rocks is a problem," said David Kuhn, a CDOT field supervisor.
The highway closed Monday as daring crews climbed the massive mountain face, working high on the slope and slowly moving down each day this week.
"Additional work is expected to take place on Thursday for the installation of rock tracking instruments. Lane closures or traffic stops will not be necessary," CDOT said in a statement released Wednesday morning.
The hope is that this rock slide mitigation will finally take care of this rock fall issue on Highway 24.
