I-70 back open after mudslide closes interstate from Glenwood Springs to Dotsero

A mudslide closed Interstate 70 in both directions from Glenwood Springs to Dotsero on Wednesday evening. The interstate was back open just before 9 p.m., Garfield County confirmed in an alert. 

During the closure, I-70 was shut down between West Rifle (exit 87) and Dotsero (exit 133). The slide took place at 5 p.m. and is located between No Name (exit 119) and Grizzly Creek (exit 121). The slide is located east of Glenwood Springs.

According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, the slide was mostly water with mud and debris. Crews began clearing the slide immediately with the deepest part of the slide at 1.5 feet against the roadway barrier. Water and debris filled a culvert next to the roadway up to nine feet deep. 

CDOT anticipated crews would be able to quickly clear the slide from the roadway, and they didn't divert traffic. 

A Flash Flood Watch began in that area at 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, and motorists were advised to monitor weather reports while CDOT continued to work closely with the National Weather Service while crews cleared the roadway. 

This was the same stretch of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon that experienced massive mudslides after torrential downpours in the summer of 2021. Those mudslides ended up throwing around 206,000 tons of debris into the river and road. I-70 was closed to traffic for weeks during the cleanup.

The mudslides happened a year after the Grizzly Creek Fire, a wildfire that burned 32,631 acres in Glenwood Canyon.