CDOT Blew Up The Large Boulder That Fell Onto A Southwestern Colorado Highway

Courtesy CDOT
CDOT crews detonate explosives placed in a 200-ton boulder on Colorado Highway 145 south of Telluride on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021.

Remember that large boulder that fell onto a highway in southwest Colorado last week? Sure you do. This one:

Well, it's now a bunch of smaller boulders and/or rocks after the Colorado Department of Transportation blew it up on Friday.

The department will blast the remaining large pieces on the highway on Monday morning. Motorists should expect some delays.

That stretch of road, Highway 145 north of Dolores and not far from Telluride, is particularly troublesome. Of course, we all remember the "large boulder the size of a small boulder" incident from last January. And the year before, a big 'ol 8.5-million rock that fell on the highway got the name "Memorial Rock" from Gov. Jared Polis.

CDOT often removes loose rocks in slide-prone areas above roads to try to prevent big falls from happening in the first place.

"We’ll follow up on this one," CDOT program engineer Kevin Curry said in a press release. "We’ll come back and check this area out and see if there’s anything else we need to address."

You can see more photos and videos of the blast here.