Water pipe blowout closes canyon trail

GLENWOOD SPRINGS — A ruptured flume at the Shoshone power plant in Glenwood Canyon pushed dirt, mud and debris onto a section of the canyon bike path early Wednesday morning.

Pete Mertes, Colorado Department of Transportation resident engineer in Glenwood Springs, said he received a phone call at about 6 a.m. Wednesday about the situation. There was some water damage to the popular bike path that runs beneath westbound Interstate 70 and the retaining walls nearby.

“We don’t see any real serious damage on the surface,” Mertes said. “There is a lot of water coming through the (retaining) wall.”

“Until some cleanup can occur, we just don’t know the extent of the damage,” Mertes said.

Meanwhile, the Glenwood Canyon recreation path is closed between Grizzly Creek rest area and the Hanging Lake tunnels indefinitely. Additionally, Grizzly Creek rest area and No Name are without power.

Access to the Colorado River at Grizzly Creek is not permitted and officials are discouraging rafting and kayaking in the area, as there is a lot of debris in the water.

Traffic on I-70 hasn’t been impacted according to CDOT.