Latest news with #LovelandSkiArea
CBS News
17-06-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Loveland Pass remains closed after Colorado landslide, but CDOT says cleanup effort's first stage is nearly complete
A stretch of Loveland Pass in the Colorado high country remains closed after a landslide, but the Colorado Department of Transportation says the first stage of the cleanup effort is nearly complete. CDOT The 100 foot wide landslide happened early Sunday evening and covered Highway 6 with a wall of mud and debris that is 15 to 20 feet high. It happened on the Clear Creek County side of the mountain pass, closer to Loveland ski area. On Tuesday crews had removed 85% of the rocks, mud and silt from the road, but engineering teams will still have to assess the stability of the mountainside before the road can be reopened. CDOT CDOT said in a Tuesday afternoon that there's still no estimated time for when Highway 6 will be back open. "Crews are working diligently to clear the slide," the department wrote in a prepared statement. "The pass will remain closed until the roadway is deemed safe. Motorists, hikers, and cyclists are urged to stay clear of the area until the clean-up is complete." CDOT said there hasn't been a landslide in the spot where it happened, which is referred to as Scottys Curves, since 2003. As a result of the closure, trucks carrying hazardous materials need to pass through the Eisenhower Tunnel on Interstate 70, and that could result in some slowdowns for drivers passing through the tunnel from Summit County to Clear Creek County and back.
CBS News
16-06-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Trucks carrying hazardous material to be diverted through I-70 after Colorado mudslide; traffic delays expected
The mudslide that forced a closure of U.S. Highway 6 at Loveland Pass is causing some changes that are likely to result in traffic delays, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Due to the closure, CDOT crews will be escorting trucks carrying hazardous materials through the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels, which they're typically prohibited from driving through. During those trips, other traffic will be held at the entrance of each side of the tunnels, which are on I-70 on the western side of Clear Creek County, about 60 miles west of Denver. Sunday's landslide crossed the highway at mile marker 226, about three miles above U.S. 6's interchange with Interstate 70 near the Loveland Ski Area and one mile below the summit of Loveland Pass. The move is common when U.S. 6 has to close, but it will cause delays in regular traffic as the tunnels are traversed by vehicles carrying hazardous material, which can include oil or gas, specialized batteries, commercial or military explosives, various biological or chemical materials, and more. Those materials are regulated by both state and federal transportation officials. The mudslide, which was reported on Sunday and is approximately 15 to 20 feet in depth, has fully closed Highway 6 to traffic and there's no estimated time of reopening. Hikers and cyclists are also being asked to avoid the area until crews clear the mud and silt and determine the area is safe. No one was injured in the slide, CDOT said. "The area is still actively moving so we can't safely begin cleanup efforts yet," CDOT spokesperson Austyn Dineen told CBS Colorado. U.S. Highway 6 at Loveland Pass is seen on Monday, June 16, 2025 after a mudslide closed the highway. CBS CDOT says a similar slide occurred in the area in 2003 but they have no record of any similar activity in the area in the 22 years since then. Loveland Pass, where the slide occurred, crests the Continental Divide just shy of 12,000 feet in elevation.
CBS News
15-06-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Landslide closes highway over Colorado mountain pass
Mud and rock an estimated 15 to 20 feet deep buried both lanes of travel across U.S. 6 near Loveland Pass before sunrise Saturday. There is no indication when road crews will be able to clear the debris and re-open the road. No vehicles or cyclists are known to have been caught in the slide, according to state and county authorities. No actual time that the slide occurred has been released, either, although the first notification of the highway's closure came from the Colorado Department of Transportation at 4:25 a.m. A landslide crossed both lanes of U.S. 6 a mile north of Loveland Pass's summit Saturday morning. There is no estimated time of re-opening the highway, and authorities are asking travelers to avoid the area because the slide is still active. Clear Creek Sheriff's Office/Facebook The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office stated in a social media post that the landslide crossed the highway at mile marker 226. That location is three miles above U.S. 6's interchange with Interstate 70 near the Loveland Ski Area and one mile below the summit of Loveland Pass. The Keystone and Arapahoe Basin ski areas are open but only accessible from the western side of Loveland Pass in Silverthorne. A-Basin extended its winter ski season earlier this month after planning to close on June 4; today is the ski area's last day. Keystone's ski season ended in early April. That resort planned to open its gates for summer recreation Thursday. There are no limitations to reaching Loveland Ski Area which ended its winter ski season May 4. Colorado Department of Transportation/Facebook Loveland Pass crests the Continental Divide just shy of 12,000 feet in elevation. The road is used as an alternative to the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels on I-70, particularly for trucks carrying hazardous cargo. With that Loveland Pass route unavailable, highway officials will normally close the tunnels to regular traffic at regular intervals to allow such hazardous cargo to travel through them alone. CDOT has made no announcements about those planned closures at this time.
