I-70 through Glenwood Canyon should be open sometime Saturday afternoon, time to be determined, according to officials with the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The reopening will be one lane only on each deck between mileposts 123.5 and 124.5, according to Keith Stefanik, CDOT’s deputy incident commander, who talked about the agency’s continuing efforts to repair damage in the canyon caused by a July 29 mudslide.

“This is fixable but it will take time,” Stefanik said during a Friday news conference. 

CDOT estimates it will be around Thanksgiving for repairs to be completed so that all lanes of the interstate will be open.

In the meantime, drivers should be mindful that they will be driving through a construction zone with slower speeds, according to CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew. “There’s a lot of see on the sides” where the damage will still be visible, Lew said, but drivers need to be attentive to the road and traffic.

The most significant damage, between milepost 123.5 and 124.5 on the canyon’s east end, could not be seen until the debris was cleared from both lanes. CDOT has used “super sacks,” 150 bags of sand at 3,000 pounds per sack, that they hope will hold back any further damage from small rocks.

Crews have completed asphalt paving in the damaged areas, Stefanik said, but “we’re not out of the clear. We have to get good cooperation from Mother Nature and make sure she’s not establishing more events” that will dump more debris on the highway.

CDOT will be reviewing bids for the permanent repairs, and hopes to issue those contracts by next Friday, Stefanik said. 

The loss of infrastructure, not just the road itself, has been amazing, according to Stefanik. He described a section of the road at mile post 123.5 where the Colorado River is still high, and debris flow in the river is still high. “We believe the infrastructure is sound … We have zero concern about the stability of MP 123.5 through MP 124.5, he said. 

The fabled Glenwood Canyon bike path will remain closed for some time. Mike Goolsby, CDOT’s incident commander, said there are 10 locations on the bike path where there is still debris. Clearing that debris is a lower priority compared to reestablishing traffic, he said. The path is underwater in some places, which happens every year during spring runoff, he added. It’s a normal occurrence not to be able to see the path, but because of debris from the mudslide, they have not been able to get to some sections of the bike path to inspect it. Goolsby said some of the the biggest damage to the bike path is to the railing along the Colorado River. 

Lew said the Forest Service characterized the mudslide as a 500-year event. 

Lew also addressed the reportedly-false claim that Independence Pass had been closed due to a mudslide and was not available as a detour. There was miscommunication about what was gong on, she said. Staff made a choice to  use protocol that the department wasn’t employing with regard to Independence Pass, although it was one they used last year during the fires. They made a mistake, and have apologized for it, she said.