Springtime in the Rockies means many things. Winter driving conditions are pretty much over except for the occasional blizzard that holds us captive for another few days. Green is the dominant color after a long winter of rather drab hues. We see more critters as we pass through the canyons and near rivers. In early spring we also see traces of rocks falling down from the steep canyon walls. Sometimes those rocks in the extra large size come crashing down on the roadways. Colorado has seen its share of rockslides that have taken the lives of too many people. In order to minimize that risk, CDOT crews inspect the many areas of the state that are suspect for rockslides. Just last month, CO 133 near the Paonia Reservoir area experienced a serious slide that closed the highway for several days.

PIO and Quarterly editor Brian Jordon (italicized) got the first call:

Monday evening, April 24, I got a call at the TOC at the CTMC (Colorado Traffic Management Center) saying there had been a rockslide on Colorado State Highway 133 west of McClure Pass. The initial report indicated no vehicles involved, no injuries, might just be minor. Such was not the case. In fact the rock sliding had only just begun. I talked to Region 3's Frank Galvin, and he was on the scene shortly after the first slide. Part of the time he was working as a flagger, stopping cars and trying to convince them to turn around. One driver said, "There's a lane open, can't I just drive through?" Galvin said, "Right at that time a huge portion of the rock wall came crashing down. There was no more arguing about trying to drive through." The chunk that came down was about the size of a small school bus.

When the engineers and inspectors looked closely at the mountainside, they discovered a larger rock slab that was loose and required immediate attention to bring down the potential threat. As the road was closed, the Colorado Traffic Management Center in Golden quickly went to work lighting up the necessary message boards, advising travelers that CO 133 was closed once again -- use alternate routes. That affected many drivers since the road over McClure pass is very popular and well traveled, particularly in the warmer months. The Public Information Specialists at the Traffic Management Center began communicating throughout the affected area with radio and television stations, newspapers and fax machines.

Just being at the scene was a little unsettling for many of the workers, me too. A gray stream of powdered shale and sandstone was leaking out from behind the precarious looking rock wall regularly. Indeed a gush of pebbles and dust shimmered down the wall right before the drilling began, startling us all. When CDOT geologist Ty Ortiz first saw the void left by the rock fall, he confirmed what workers on the scene suspected ever since the first slide. A gigantic sheet of rock was unstable and would have to be brought down. Holes would have to be drilled and dynamite used to blast it down. Yenter Construction of Grand Junction also had to blast many of the boulders already down into chunks small enough for the front-end loader to handle.

The staff was interviewed many times about the rockslide. Nancy Shanks is the CDOT Public Relations person in the southwestern region of Colorado responsible for communicating to the CDOT community and the public about incidents of a significant nature. Her immediate grasp of the situation and quick response to the media let travelers know that the reopening of the road would come as soon as the safety of the public was assured.