News
Rock slide will keep Highway 50 closed Tuesday
Posted: Feb 14, 2011 8:36 PM by Jeannette Hynes
Updated: Apr 15, 2011 3:11 PM
Tuesday morning, a geologist with the Colorado Department of Transportation will assess how dangerous and unstable a rock slide sitting on Highway 50 really is.
The massive slide happened late Monday afternoon, west of the small town of Cotopaxi, shutting down Highway 50 in both directions.
C-DOT workers briefly checked the rock slide Monday before nightfall. Carl Valdez, C-DOT Deputy Maintenance Superintendent, describes the slide as being 20 feet in height, possibly 100 feet long, and covering the entire width of the highway all the way to the bank of the Arkansas River.
C-DOT is keeping its own workers away from the slide until they know if the surrounding rocks along the canyon are stable.
Suggested detour westbound: North on Highway 9 at the Royal Gorge, west on 24 and south on 285.
Suggested detour eastbound: North on Highway 285 at Poncha Springs, east on 24 and south on Highway 9.
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