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Boulder Falls In Big Thompson Canyon

Posted on 12 June 2010.

A very large boulder fell in the Big Thompson Canyon today, Saturday June 12.

With all this wet, rainy weather, the large rocks on the canyon walls can sometimes come loose.

Crews took a few hours to clear the boulder from the road. Drive carefully!

Photo courtesy Roxy Whalley

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US Hwy 34 To Be Closed Wednesday, May 26th

Posted on 25 May 2010.

Photos by Leisa Spence

Starting at 9 a.m. tomorrow, May 26th, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will completely close US 34 between Estes Park and Drake for rockfall mitigation work. Crews will be blasting rock near milepost 75, which is the location of the May 21st rockslide.

“We conducted some blasting and rock scaling on Saturday following the rockslide, but we have more work to do higher up on the slope,” said CDOT Rockfall Specialist Ty Ortiz. “There are several large rocks that we will bring down tomorrow to further stabilize the slope.”

To complete the work, crews will have to shutdown US 34 for most of the day. During the closure, US 34 motorists will be detoured through Lyons along US 287, State Highway 66 and US 36. Glen Haven Road will also remain open.

CDOT hopes to reopen US 34 by 4 p.m. tomorrow; however, the reopening is dependent upon how much material is brought down in the rockfall mitigation process. Following blasting operations, crews will have to clean up any material brought down and patch the roadway.

Information will be released tomorrow once the highway reopens or if the schedule changes.

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Rock Slide In Highway 34 Canyon

Posted on 22 May 2010.

UPDATE – US Hwy 34 between Loveland and Estes Park is open to traffic.

Friday evening at approximately 5:30 p.m., about a dozen rocks fell onto US 34 at milepost 75, just west of Drake. Initially, US 34 was closed in both directions between Estes Park and milepost 75. CDOT maintenance crews quickly began working to repair minor damage to the roadway.

US 34 just west of Drake remained closed overnight due to this rockfall event as the slope where the rocks came from was determined to be unstable and crews were unable to thoroughly assess its safety in the dark.

By Saturday afternoon crews had completed rockfall mitigation by blasting and scaling loose rock. Approximately 500 cubic yards of material came down in the mitigation efforts today. Crews are now beginning the cleanup process and roadway repairs.

CDOT anticipates that more rockfall mitigation will need to take place early next week, which may require additional closures of US 34. More information on the additional work will be released on Monday.

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US 34 Reopens Ahead Of Schedule

Posted on 10 February 2010.

By 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 10th, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will reopen US 34 just east of Estes Park following an eight-day closure for bridge replacement. US 34 has been closed at milepost 65.4 near Drake since midnight on February 3^rd while crews demolished and replaced one of two steel truss bridges originally constructed in 1937.

“Our contractor has been working extremely hard over the last eight days in order to reopen US 34 before Sunday, February 14^th,” said CDOT Resident Engineer Scott Ellis. “By prefabricating much of the new bridge and working nearly 24 hours a day, crews were able to complete the work and reopen US 34 four days ahead of schedule and in time for the holiday weekend.”

CDOT still has one more bridge to replace on US 34 at milepost 66.3, which will require another full closure of US 34 for approximately 12 days. Currently, the second closure is scheduled to take place March 1^st through March 12^th; however, the closure may be moved to the week of February 22^nd to take advantage of good weather.

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Community Meeting For Big Thompson River Property Owners

Posted on 28 March 2009.

The Board of Larimer County Commissioners will hold a community meeting to listen to citizen input concerning Big Thompson River Properties and associated options regarding fishing access and the Hayden Subdivision on Monday, March 30, from 7-9 p.m. at the Drake Community Building, 1479 Big Thompson Canyon Road, Drake, Colorado.

Please visit the Larimer County web site at www.larimer.org/bigthompson/ for information on the Hayden Subdivision Proposal.

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Rock Slide On Highway 34

Posted on 18 August 2008.

A rock slide occurred in the Big Thompson Canyon (Highway 34) about 1.75 miles east of Estes Park at about 1:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Several very large boulders blocked the roadway

Fortunately, no one was hit or injured, and CDOT crews quickly cleared the boulders from the road.

Photos courtesy Carolyn & Richard Dietz

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News Regarding US 34 Bridge Replacement

Posted on 18 April 2008.

This week, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) realigned US 34 near Drake as part of the bridge replacement project over the Big Thompson River at milepost 81.13. The new alignment allowed crews to open one lane of US 34 in each direction through the construction zone.

“Since the project began in February, US 34 has been in a one-lane configuration with signals at each end to direct traffic through the work zone,” said CDOT Project Engineer Miranda Roskop. “With half of the new bridge constructed, we have been able to open a lane in each direction, which will reduce the delays and improve the flow of traffic.”

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