Colorado will reroute highway around boulder that fell on it
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this May 27 photo, an 8.5 million pound boulder rests next to Colorado State Highway 145 after falling from nearly 1,000 feet from the nearby ridge and destroying the pavement between Cortez and Telluride, Colo. The state has decided to keep the boulder where it is and re-route the highway around it, saving about $200,000 in blasting costs
DENVER >> A boulder the size of a house that crashed onto a southwestern Colorado state highway last month will stay put. State officials plan to reroute the highway around it — saving taxpayers money and possibly creating a tourist attraction.
Democratic Gov. Jared Polis said Tuesday that Colorado will save about $200,000 by not blasting the 8.5 million pound (3.9 million kilogram) boulder.
The boulder was the largest in a rockslide that destroyed pavement on a stretch of Colorado Highway 145 near the town of Dolores on May 24.
It will cost about $1.3 million to re-route the road, some of which will come from federal emergency funding.
Polis said people will also have the opportunity to see the boulder dubbed “Memorial Rock.” It fell on Memorial Day weekend.
