The Colorado Department of Transportation said a pilot vehicle will being leading one lane of traffic through Glenwood Canyon starting Sunday at 6 p.m., but delays could last one hour or more.
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However, for the next few days, the road will be closed from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. for more rock removal.
So far, CDOT said crews removed 400 tons of rock after a massive rock slide last week shut down I-70 near Glenwood Springs, about 150 miles west of Denver.
Only one lane of the highway will reopen Sunday night, with a pilot auto taking drivers through the canyon in each direction.
Officials say they will be using a pilot auto configuration through that section of I-70.
“(But) given the circumstances, and given the fact that we still have freeze-thaw cycles, we still have precipitation, and that we continue to have rocks coming down, we are unable to open the road at this point”, Bhatt said.
“People should anticipate some longer-term closures for that rockfall mitigation work, not unlike what we often have to do in that corridor and around the state”, she said.
Westbound traffic will travel in one lane starting at Exit 129 (Bair Ranch) to the east side of the Hanging Lake Tunnel bore where the pilot auto will begin.
Three more rockfall incidents occurred overnight in different parts of the canyon outside the big slide zone west of the Hanging Lake Tunnels, indicating just how saturated and unstable the slopes remain, Ford said.
The pilot auto operation is likely to be in place for several days as CDOT crews continue to assess the extent of damage to the elevated westbound lanes and make repairs. This means there will only be one direction of traffic flowing through the area at a time. Motorists should also expect occasional delays as permanent rockfall mitigation work continues, CDOT officials have said.
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I-70 in Glenwood Canyon was still not safe enough to reopen to any traffic Saturday. High winds, rain and sleet Thursday slowed work to remove loose rocks that appeared to be in danger of falling. “It turned into a more continuous event given the nature of rock scaling that was necessary”. Travelers have been forced to take hourslong detours both north and south of the affected route area.
