I-70 Through Glenwood Canyon Will Reopen on Saturday After July Mudslides

After severe mudslides shut down Glenwood Canyon back in July, Governor Jared Polis and CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew sent two formal state disaster declarations for federal financial aid. Now, a day after an expedited amount of $11.6 million was approved for repairs, Governor Polis has announced I-70 will reopen on Saturday afternoon.

Governor Polis and Colorado Department of Transportation personnel talked vehemently about how critical reopening this thoroughfare was. For both commercial trucking and every day travel, this east-west stretch of I-70 is vital to the economy. Priority number one from day one has been opening it back up in some capacity.

Polis urges that, while cleanup and repairs have made great progress, the state of Colorado still needs strong assistance from the federal government. Colorado is still waiting to hear back on the full $116 million that was requested in the disaster declarations.

Over the next four days, material removal will continue to be of utmost importance, and Xcel has been commended by the state for their help in expediting the process.

Originally, Governor Polis had mentioned in a press conference that the timeline was difficult to determine, initially setting reopening estimates at a few days to a few weeks.

Luckily, it seems the situation has leaned toward the side of a few days since that conference, and the reopening of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon will alleviate a lot of economic strain on Colorado.