Rock blasting delays traffic

Dynamite blasting of large rocks slowed traffic through Shale Bluffs on Highway 82 on Wednesday, causing commuter headaches.

But no traffic impacts are expected in the area today. Colorado Department of Transportation workers will spend today on Interstate 70 repairing potholes created by last week's storm.

On Dec. 10, rocks crashed onto Highway 82 from the hills above the highway just downvalley from the Aspen airport. A large shale boulder and several smaller slabs fractured from the main rock face and wound up lying across the shoulder and upvalley lane.

Road crews began blasting the large rocks with dynamite and clearing away the rocks that had been moved to the side of the road on Tuesday, although work was initially slow because of weather delays. CDOT spokeswoman Nancy Shanks said traffic was stopped for 10 minutes during each blasting session, and delays were as long as 30 to 35 minutes for motorists.

During the work, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., traffic was moving in one lane in each direction.

But because enough work was completed on Tuesday and Wednesday, crews will not be in the area today. They will return on Friday for more blasting in the morning, and depending on the weather they may be able to finish their cleanup on Friday afternoon.

Shanks said the cost of the repair and cleanup is about $5,000, including both rock removal from the hillsides and the blasting to make removing larger rocks manageable.

Joe Elsen, CDOT program engineer in Glenwood Springs, said the Shale Bluffs area is now more stable than it was before the highway was widened to four lanes in the late '90s because large bolts were used to fasten rocks to the mountainside. Still, he said, CDOT will always have to keep a close eye on the area for rocks and mudslides during freeze-thaw cycles, when moisture within cracks expands and snaps rocks off the mountain.

This particular fall occurred when last Monday's rainfall froze during the night.

Naomi Havlen's e-mail address is nhavlen@aspentimes.com