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COURTESY OF CDOT
Glenwood Canyon experienced continuous rainfall Thursday night with rain gauges showing three inches of rainfall in some areas. Despite the heavy rain, crews were able to get the road open by 5 a.m. Friday morning.
Chelsea Self
Chelsea Self/Glenwood Springs Post Independent
A massive debris flow sits in the Colorado River after washing down the Devils Hole drainage in Glenwood Canyon on Interstate 70 near mile marker 125 this summer.
Chelsea Self/Glenwood Springs Post Independent
Crews clear mud and debris from the eastbound lanes this past summer near milepost 123 on Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon after flooding closed the interstate.
SPECIAL TO THE SENTINEL
The debris flow caused major damage this past summer to the area around Bridge No. 3 on the Hanging Lake Trail.
COURTESY OF CDOT
Glenwood Canyon experienced continuous rainfall Thursday night with rain gauges showing three inches of rainfall in some areas. Despite the heavy rain, crews were able to get the road open by 5 a.m. Friday morning.
Chelsea Self
Chelsea Self/Glenwood Springs Post Independent
A massive debris flow sits in the Colorado River after washing down the Devils Hole drainage in Glenwood Canyon on Interstate 70 near mile marker 125 this summer.
Chelsea Self/Glenwood Springs Post Independent
Crews clear mud and debris from the eastbound lanes this past summer near milepost 123 on Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon after flooding closed the interstate.
SPECIAL TO THE SENTINEL
The debris flow caused major damage this past summer to the area around Bridge No. 3 on the Hanging Lake Trail.
Remember 2020’s record two-week closure of Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon because of the Grizzly Creek Fire?
Turns out, that would be just one of the closures resulting from that fire. An even longer shutdown this summer caused major travel headaches in western Colorado, forcing hourslong detours and affecting things such as local tourism and delivery of goods.
This year’s big closure, starting in late July, was from heavy rains that helped ease the drought that continues to plague the region, but also wreaked havoc on Glenwood Canyon’s steep, fire-scarred slopes.
Rain fell at one point at a rate of more than an inch in 15 minutes, in what was considered a 500-year rain event.
It caused debris flows not just in the canyon but even in other places in the region that hadn’t been hit by fires.
The heavy rain fell on soil already saturated by previous recent moisture, aggravating the problem.
The flows left some motorists stranded in the canyon overnight, with some taking shelter in the highway’s Hanging Lake Tunnel complex.
Debris flows reached the canyon floor in numerous areas, crossing and damaging the roadway and associated infrastructure in spots and also reaching the Colorado River.
In some cases, it pushed the river’s flow up against the bike path beside the highway.
In one particularly damaged section east of the Shoshone hydroelectric power plant, the flooding punched a hole in what had been the highway’s eastbound lanes, and also caused significant damage to the westbound deck.
After trucks hauled away hundreds of loads of debris and repairs were made to the roadway, it reopened Aug. 14, though longer-term work in the canyon has continued.
This winter, some of the work is focusing on removing debris from the Colorado River.
And it remains to be seen how much more flooding might occur in the canyon in future years before slopes have revegetated and stabilized, reducing that threat.
Meanwhile, the popular trail to scenic Hanging Lake in Glenwood Canyon remains closed after suffering heavy damage from the flooding.
U.S. Forest Service officials expect to work first on getting a primitive route to the lake established and open before undertaking a longer-term effort to build a permanent replacement trail.
Also, this summer’s I-70 closure and the major detours it caused for travel on a key east-west corridor in the state have refocused attention on the possibility of the Colorado Department of Transportation and Garfield and Eagle counties establishing an alternate route on Cottonwood Pass south of the canyon.
This route could be used when the highway closes.
The route currently isn’t open year-round and also is in need of upgrades if it is to serve as an official alternate route, though it already sees considerable use during I-70 closures.
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