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Red Mountain Pass open to traffic after closure

CDOT equipment went off shoulder
Red Mountain Pass north of the summit is now clear after traffic restrictions were in place earlier Wednesday as crews tried to retrieve a piece of machinery that fell 80 feet down an embankment. Cars have been known to plunge off the steep mountain pass, requiring recovery, as seen in this file photo.

Both lanes on Red Mountain Pass north of the summit reopened at about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday night after experiencing periodic closures combined with one lane-alternating traffic for about six hours.

An oversized load restriction was still in place overnight.

“A maintenance crew was milling and patching the road when a piece of equipment on the shoulder went off the road,” Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Lisa Schwantes said about 2:40 p.m. “They had to close the road to bring it up.”

The incident occurred near mile marker 91 on U.S. Highway 550, between Bear Creek and Ouray.

“They’re estimating it’s about 80 feet down an embankment, so they needed to bring in some heavy equipment to bring it up,” Schwantes said. “We’re really grateful none of the maintenance crew was injured.”

The crew had to repair the shoulder after the machinery was retrieved, which led to the lengthy delay, she said.

abutler@durangoherald.com



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