Highway 6 back open in Colorado's Clear Creek Canyon after rockslide

Multiple rockslides closed both directions of Highway 6 in Clear Creek Canyon early Thursday morning. The highway was closed all through the morning from Highway 58 in Golden to Highway 119 at the Clear Creek County junction and began reopening in the early afternoon.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said there were multiple rockslides blocking the road. The highway partially opened with alternating lanes and was fully opened later in the day. 

According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, the biggest rockslide stretched 175 feet long and three feet deep west of Tunnel 3.

The Colorado Department of Transportation's geohazards team was on site to check for stability.  

What caused the slide was being investigated, however that area was in the path of severe storms on Wednesday into Thursday that brought heavy rain to the area and even some flash flooding. 

Jeffco Sheriff posted on X that the storm brought significant rainfall and flooding to some areas as the storm cell remained over the area for approximately two hours. Unofficial estimates indicate about six inches of rain fell during that time, increasing water levels above Evergreen Lake from 12 cubic feet per second to 1200 cfs.