The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is staying one step ahead of Mother Nature before the next storm hits.

CDOT crews used a crane on Wednesday to place more than 150 car-sized sandbags along a mountainous stretch of Interstate 70 to prevent future natural disasters. 

“Each super sack weighs approximately 1.5 tons or 3,000 pounds,” said CDOT Deputy Chief Engineer Keith Stefanik. “This is also very close to the weight of a Volkswagen Beetle.”

Acting as a barrier to divert flood and muddy waters, the sandbags were placed in rows along the west end of Glenwood Canyon near the Hanging Lake Tunnel.

Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon has been shut down for nearly two weeks after suffering “extreme” mudslide damage. The slides were triggered on the interstate by heavy monsoon rains dropping over the Grizzly Creek Fire burn scar area.

More than a hundred people were left stranded overnight as a result.

The state requested $116 million in emergency federal funding to rebuild portions of the interstate destroyed by mudslides.

Crews hauled away close to 8,000 tons of debris from the interstate, which will partially reopen on Saturday afternoon. That’s nearly 16 million pounds of rocks, trees, and mud.

Editor’s Note: Click here for Colorado Department of Transportation’s Travel Center for updated road closures and conditions.

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