Eastbound lanes of I-70 on Colorado's Western Slope shut down once again as semi crash cleanup continues

The eastbound lanes of I-70 near Glenwood Springs have shut down once again, this time at 11 a.m. on Thursday as the cleanup continued from a semi crash days earlier. The semi crash happened on Tuesday, shutting down eastbound lanes of I-70 near Glenwood Springs for several hours.

The planned closure for the cleanup on Wednesday was delayed due to resources from the Colorado Department of Transportation being diverted to a rock slide that closed both directions of Highway 40 near Milner.   

On Tuesday, the truck hauling black plastic crates and wooden pallets was driving west when it rolled over and crashed through the guard rail down into the eastbound lanes below, spilling oil, according to the Colorado State Patrol. This caused a roadblock in the eastbound lanes of I-70 for several hours on Tuesday before a temporary overnight clearance.  

Those lanes were scheduled for a planned closure from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday for crews to finish the cleanup after the semi took out about 200 feet of guardrail before falling 25 feet down to the eastbound lanes.

According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, a detour is in place for I-70 eastbound at mile marker 87 to direct traffic up CO 13 to US 40 and then to CO 9.