Around 7 p.m. on Monday evening, a stretch of I-70 between New Castle and Silt in western Colorado became impassable due to a severe debris flow event, closing a stretch of the interstate and resulting in a notable detour.

As of 11 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the stretch of road remained closed, with the Colorado Department of Transportation describing the area that was hit as about 300 yards of highway with debris more than three feet deep in some areas. The debris flow was the result of torrential rain and hail flooding the area, pushing logs, mud, and rocks onto the road. Local drainage quickly became overwhelmed.

Per a Tuesday morning press release, crews were working to remove many tons of debris and once that debris is removed, water will need to drain.

“A debris flow is a fast-moving, gravity-driven slurry of water-saturated rock, soil, vegetation, and other organic materials that travels down slopes,” read a Colorado Department of Transportation press release about the situation. “Moving like a river of liquid mud and rock, these destructive landslides can exceed speeds of 35 mph and are frequently triggered by intense rainfall or rapid snowmelt, particularly in areas recently scarred by wildfires, but can also take place in extremely dry conditions.”

The closure that’s in place is between Exit 97 (2 miles east of Silt) and Exit 105 (near New Castle) from mile marker 101.5 to mile marker 105 with traffic being detoured via US 6. Travelers should expect delays.

Find updates posted here.

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