September 18, 2024 Shannon Lukens

By Shannon Lukens.

⚠️UPDATE from CDOT – 5:15 p.m. (9/18/24) – US 40 is OPEN. Rockfall clean-up is completed.

UPDATE: CDOT spokesperson Lisa Schwantes says they are blasting the biggest rock in the slide and then they will haul it away, to get the highway open as soon as possible.

Here are pictures from CDOT.

Photos courtesy CDOT

UPDATE at 12:41 p.m. CoTrip.org still says Hwy 40 is closed. “Between County Road 68 and County Road 50 (10 miles west of Steamboat Springs) at Mile Point 119.5. Road closed expect delays due to a rock slide. See map for detour(s).” Link to map on COTrip website: US 40 in both directions: Road closed.

UPDATE at 9:36 a.m. Press release from Colorado Department of Transportation. — NW CDOT Travel Alert —

Rockfall closes US 40 west of Steamboat, near Milner

11 a.m. closure and cleanup of I-70 Glenwood Canyon postponed

A rockslide occurred on US Highway 40 west of Steamboat Springs just after 7 a.m. this morning.

Routt County — US Highway 40 is closed due to a rockslide. The rockfall occurred just after 7 a.m. this morning west of Steamboat Springs and near the community of Milner. Colorado Department of Transportation crews are responding to remove smaller rocks and debris. A large boulder reached the roadway and covered both lanes of travel. CDOT crews are on the scene working to reduce the hazards on the ground, while specialized teams have been mobilized to help remove the larger rock and confirm the integrity of the nearby rock face.

It is not known when the highway will reopen. Routt County is assisting CDOT with a detour through county roads. Travelers can bypass the closure by using County Roads 33, 33A and 27 south of US 40.

The planned 11 a.m. closure and clean-up of I-70 Glenwood Canyon is now postponed due to the US 40 rockslide; CDOT will update the public ahead of the resumption of that work, which will only take place once travel on US-40 is restored.

UPDATE at 11:01 a.m. From CDOT Communications Manager Lisa Schwantes: I am waiting to hear from the field supervisor about a potential plan. They’re determining if it’s possible to push the large rock off the roadway. I’ll share more information as I get it.

UPDATE at 7:40 a.m.: Colorado State Patrol says there were no injuries in this morning’s rockslide and that Hwy 40 is under an extended closure. We have also just received an email from Colorado Department of Transportation that Glenwood Canyon is closing at 11 a.m. today for cleanup efforts from a crash in the canyon on Tuesday, and that I-70 traffic will be re-routed north on 13 to Craig and then along Hwy 40 to Kremmling and then Silverthorne. We have reached out to CDOT to ask if this is still happening, considering Hwy 40 is closed because of the rockslide.

UPDATE at 7:25 a.m.: Highway 40 is closed in BOTH DIRECTIONS. Traffic is being re-routed on 20-Mile Road. From Routt County: Detours in place via Twenty Mile Road. Eastbound detour at Highway 40 and CR 27 to CR 33. Westbound detour at Highway 40 and CR 33A to CR 33 to CR 27.

There is a large rockslide in the westbound lane of Highway 40, just west of Milner. That lane is completely blocked. It is at Mile Marker 120. We’ll update this post as more information is available.

Photo courtesy Kody May.