UPDATE | June 23 — After clearing more than 90% of the rocks from Colorado Highway 7 between Allenspark and Lyons, CDOT said its geo-technical experts discovered a deeper fracture. This will force the extension of the closure through at least the middle of next week, CDOT said.
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The Colorado Department of Transportation extended the emergency closure of Colorado State Highway 7 Tuesday after a rock slide six days ago.
Cleanup crews have already hauled 100 truckloads of debris from the site of the rock slide, the agency tweeted. They spent a long weekend of pulling down tons of loose rock from the highway and blasting boulders described as the size of garbage trucks and one the size of a fire engine.
After all that work over the weekend, CDOT decided to continue the shutdown of CO-7 from Lyons to Allenspark through Friday, June 23, according to an agency news release Tuesday.
#CDOT #News: Emergency closure of #CO7 for rockslide cleanup extended to at least through Friday, June 23. Crews have already hauled 100 truckloads of material from the site.
— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT) June 20, 2023
📰https://t.co/Su6u1bYJ5U#KnowBeforeYouGo #SlowfortheConeZone pic.twitter.com/8LEZUjN2VW
“We realize the inconvenience this has caused for the residents of the canyon,” Regional Transportation Director Heather Paddock said in the news release. “But this slide has loosened a lot more rock in this area and we need to get all of that down so it is safe for the traveling public when we reopen."
Paddock said CDOT wanted to let people who live in the area and others who have to drive along CO-7 as soon as possible about the extended closure, so they could make other plans.
She added Friday is their "best estimate" of when the road will be reopened.
