Flatiron Construction Corp. of Longmont is the apparent low-bidder on the state contract to repair $860,417 worth of damage on Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon, according to the Colorado Dept. of Transportation.

Following the rockslide that hit Interstate 70 on March 8, CDOT immediately implemented emergency contracting procedures to get a contractor on board for the extensive repairs that would follow.

As early as the afternoon of the slide, CDOT engineers met with one prospective contractor on site, then provided site tours to four more the next day.
“This happened on Monday, but we were able to get the work designed and out for competitive bidding by Tuesday, advertising the work to contractors on Wednesday,” said CDOT Program Engineer Joe Elsen. “We opened bids at 2 p.m. [Friday] and now, with an apparent low bidder identified, we are all very happy to begin the repairs. ”
Flatiron, which worked on the original construction of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon, has committed to completing the project in 55 days.  

The total cost of the rockslide is expected to be much higher, since the construction cost doesn’t include emergency response, blasting and other labor needed to reopen the highway, which is carrying two-way traffic in the eastbound lanes. Those costs are still being totaled.
It is estimated that the slide brought 20 boulders onto the interstate, ranging in size from 3 ft to10 ft in diameter. The largest was estimated to weigh about 66 tons. The rocks punched holes in the elevated sections of roadway—the largest in the westbound lanes measuring 20 ft by 10 ft. Another hole in the lower eastbound lanes measures 6 ft by 6 ft. There are a half a dozen other holes in the roadway, as well as areas where rocks are embedded, said Stacey Stegman, CDOT spokeswoman. Most of those repair areas appear to be approximately 5 ft by 5 ft.

Rocks are scattered over 100 yd of roadway. Also damaged are three sections of steel guardrail and 100 lin ft of median barrier. The damage is similar to that resulting from the 2004 rockslide in the canyon, which required $1.2 million in total repairs.

CDOT geologists attributed the slide to a freeze-thaw effect caused by warm spring weather, according to Mindy Crane, CDOT public relations.