GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — A portion of Interstate 70 in western Colorado was closed Monday, June 28, following series of mudslides triggered by rainfall over the weekend near where a wildfire burned last year.
While eastbound lanes of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon were expected to open later in the day, thanks to clean-up work overnight, there is no estimate for when westbound lanes of the highway will reopen, the Colorado Department of Transportation said.
The largest of the mudslides that happened on Sunday along Colorado’s main east-west highway flowed down the same drainage as the one that happened Saturday along the Grizzly Creek Fire burn scar, the Glenwood Post Independent reported. The fire, which started in August 2020, burned about 51 square miles.
Sunday’s main mudslide reached 80 feet wide and 5 feet deep in areas.
On Saturday, the mud spread 70 feet wide and was 5 feet deep in places. Saturday’s highway closure lasted several hours.
Travelers may need to expect on-and-off closures of I-70 in Glenwood Canyon when rainfall is expected in the area this summer, Kane Schneider, a CDOT transportation maintenance employee, said.
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