BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — Boulder Canyon reopened Wednesday evening around 6:45 p.m. after a large rockslide on Colorado Highway 119 Tuesday evening.
The rockslide happened around mile marker 33, which closed the highway through Boulder Canyon from the base of Boulder to the top of the canyon in Nederland, according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office.
On Wednesday, crews had to work to break down “SUV-sized rocks” that fell in the rockslide, but the initial geologic assessment shows the rock face is stable and no further scaling or removal would be necessary, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).
An estimated 300-500 cubic yards of rock — each cubic yard is roughly the size of a residential dishwasher — were removed and tucked away from the roadway.
CDOT said the contractor working to repair parts of the canyon from the 2013 floods in another area of the canyon had heavy equipment on hand to work with the large rocks and performed “much of the major cleanup work.”
The road is still rough in some areas, and CDOT advised drivers to drive slowly. Permanent repair work will be done in the near future.
At one point, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said the removal and repair work could take several days.
The slide happened during heavy rain and snow in the area referred to as the Narrows.
No one was injured and no vehicles were damaged.
This story is developing and will be updated.