Massive Boulder Blocks Colorado Highway 'Indefinitely'

Massive boulder blocks Colorado highway

A highway in Colorado will have to remain indefinitely closed after a rock slide wiped out a significant portion of the pavement and left a boulder "the size of a building" embedded on the roadway.

According to a Facebook post by the Colorado Department of Transportation, two massive boulders came down on Colorado 145 on Friday between Cortez and Telluride, just north of Delores. The rock slide left a large amount of dirt, debris and other rocks on the road, but the boulders did the real damage in destroying the highway, leaving a ditch about eight feet deep across both lanes of traffic.

The highway was destroyed by the massive rocks, making the road impassable, the department said.

"A geo-technical team, equipment and supplies are being mobilized to the site, but it is not known when the road can be re-opened," the Colorado Department of Transportation wrote on Facebook. "A boulder, the size of a building, which remains embedded on the highway needs to be blasted into smaller pieces in order to move it off the roadway.

Officials are recommending motorists seek an alternate route to their destination, but caution it'll take additional time. One suggested alternate route around the boulder takes motorists on a more than four-hour detour.

It's not currently know when the road will be reopened.

Photo: Colorado Department of Transportation


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