The Colorado Department of Transportation announced new thresholds for Interstate 70 closures through Glenwood Canyon on Tuesday. The new thresholds are expected to reduce such closures by 50%.

Earlier this year, CDOT met with the National Weather Service, U.S. Geological Survey and other partner agencies to update the weather thresholds that trigger highway safety closures in the burn area from the 2020 Grizzly Creek fire.

According to a Tuesday news release, the agencies now require more precipitation to close the roadway and anticipate the higher threshold will decrease preemptive safety closures by 50%.

There will be a safety closure for I-70, the Glenwood Canyon rest areas and the recreation path if a flash flood warning is issued for the Grizzly Creek Burn scar, if one inch of rain is forecasted for the next hour or if 0.6 inches of rain is forecasted for the next 30 minutes, the news release stated.

If a flash flood watch is issued for the Grizzly Creek Fire burn scar in Glenwood Canyon, CDOT will station stand-by personnel and equipment at Glenwood Springs, Dotsero and West Rifle, according to the news release. If the watch escalates to a flash flood warning, CDOT will close I-70 from Glenwood Springs to Dotsero.

According to the news release, since mudslides closed the highway for two weeks in July 2021, CDOT conducted extensive rockfall and debris flow prevention work in Glenwood Canyon. Crews will continue to conduct rockfall removal and other work in the canyon.

Additionally, following extended I-70 closures due to vehicle crashes in 2023, CDOT posted additional signage to warn motorists about sharp curves and lowered speeds. To reduce extended closures, CDOT plans to reopen one lane of the highway during crash clean-up, the news release stated.

Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.