I-70 fully reopen after weekend mudslides force multiple closures
Interstate 70 has fully reopened after weekend mudslides forced multiple closures on the highway throughout the weekend and on Monday.
As of 6:15 p.m. Monday, westbound lanes of traffic had reopened in Glenwood Canyon, between Exit 116 (Glenwood Springs) and Exit 133 (Dotsero), according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Eastbound lanes of traffic reopened at Exit 87 in Rifle and Exit 116 in Glenwood Springs around 3 p.m.
Both directions of the interstate had been closed from Exit 87 in Rifle to Exit 133 in Dotsero on Sunday.
Heavy rain on Sunday in the burn scar area prompted a flash flood warning from the National Weather Service. Sunday’s main mudslide reached 80 feet wide and 5 feet deep in areas.
The same section of the interstate was closed for several hours on Saturday after a 70-foot-wide mudslide from the Grizzly Creek fire burn scar covered the highway. It reopened about 10 p.m. Saturday.
No injuries have been reported.
A Colorado Department of Transportation dump truck waits for a load of mud on the upper westbound deck of Interstate 70 near MM120 after a mudslide swept down the cliffs in Glenwood Canyon in the area of the Grizzly Creek burn scar on Sunday, June 27, 2021 near Glenwood Springs, Colo. (Chelsea Self/Glenwood Springs Post Independent via AP)
One of the multiple mud and debris slides on the westbound deck of Interstate 70 at MM 120 after a mudslide swept down the cliffs in Glenwood Canyon in the area of the Grizzly Creek burn scar on Sunday, June 27, 2021 near Glenwood Springs, Colo. (Chelsea Self/Glenwood Springs Post Independent via AP)
One of the multiple mud and debris slides on the westbound deck of Interstate 70 near MM 120 after a mudslide swept down the cliffs in Glenwood Canyon in the area of the Grizzly Creek burn scar on Sunday, June 27, 2021 near Glenwood Springs, Colo. (Chelsea Self/Glenwood Springs Post Independent via AP)
Crews make progress cleaning up the lower eastbound decks of Interstate 70 near MM120 on Monday after a mudslide swept down the cliffs in Glenwood Canyon in the area of the Grizzly Creek burn scar on Sunday, June 27, 2021 near Glenwood Springs, Colo. (Chelsea Self/Glenwood Springs Post Independent via AP)
Multiple feet of mud sits on shoulder of the eastbound deck of Interstate 70 at MM 120 after a mudslide swept down the cliffs in Glenwood Canyon in the area of the Grizzly Creek burn scar on Sunday, June 27, 2021 near Glenwood Springs, Colo. (Chelsea Self/Glenwood Springs Post Independent via AP)
Colorado Department of Transportation crews make progress cleaning up the lower eastbound decks of Interstate 70 on Monday near MM120 after a mudslide swept down the cliffs in Glenwood Canyon in the area of the Grizzly Creek burn scar on Sunday, June 27, 2021 near Glenwood Springs, Colo. (Chelsea Self/Glenwood Springs Post Independent via AP)