All southwest Colorado mountain passes were opened on Friday 

CDOT maintenance crews completed avalanche mitigation and cleared large amounts of heavy, wet snow from multiple mountain passes during the closures this week

 

CDOT Photos: CDOT maintenance crews tackled large slide paths on the west side of US 160 Wolf Creek Pass this week. The amount of heavy, wet snow received over week slowed operations and posed a challenge for crews and the snow removal equipment. 

Southwest & South-Central Colorado ― A major storm system impacted the southern San Juan Mountain Range beginning late Tuesday and continued through the week causing multiple mountain passes to close across southwestern Colorado. The closures were implemented for safety concerns due to hazardous road and weather conditions, as well as increased avalanche danger to the traveling public and maintenance crews. The Colorado Department of Transportation began avalanche mitigation and snow clearing operations as soon as conditions allowed and all passes including the US 160 and US 550 highway corridors were opened by Friday afternoon. 

Because of the amount of heavy, wet snow received, crews reported that operations were slow going and hard on equipment. Crews also advised that although the passes are now open, travelers can expect narrower-than-normal sections of highway, as snow removal operations continue to widen lanes and shoulders of the highways.
 
US 160 Wolf Creek Pass — Wolf Creek Pass opened Friday, March 24 at approximately 8:50 a.m. between South Fork and Pagosa (MP 157 - 167). The pass was originally closed due to safety concerns on Tuesday evening at approximately 09:35 p.m. This week’s storm event left approximately 53 inches of new snow accumulation on Wolf Creek Pass. 

US 550 Mountain Corridor — Red Mountain Pass opened Friday, March 24 at approximately 12:30 p.m. between Silverton and Ouray (MP 73 -92). Coal Bank and Molas Passes opened at approximately 4:25 p.m. on Friday, March 24 north of Purgatory to Silverton (MP 53-70). All three passes along the US 550 highway corridor were originally closed at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday due to safety concerns.  

New snow accumulations since Monday show approximately 24 inches on Red Mountain Pass, 44 inches on Molas Pass and 57 inches on Coal Bank Pass. Motorists should only park in designated pullouts beside the highway as stopping in avalanche slide areas is unsafe and illegal. 

Please Thank All of The Crews and Public Safety Personnel that Work to Get the Roads Open!! 

Instructions:

Know Before You Go
Travelers are urged to “know before you go.” Gather information about weather forecasts and anticipated travel impacts and current road conditions prior to hitting the road. CDOT resources include:
Road conditions and travel information: www.COtrip.org
Sign up for project or travel alerts: bit.ly/COalerts Check avalanche conditions at CAIC: www.avalanche.state.co.us Connect with us on social media: Twitter @coloradodot and Facebook facebook.com/coloradodot. Follow SJC OEM on facebook.com/sjcoem. Sign up for Nixle by texting 81433 to 888-777.