Oops!
Next time you see one of those Falling Rock signs along the highway, pay attention. Sometimes the rocks look like this:
Monday along I-70 in Glenwood Canyon west of Denver, there was a rock slide, to put it mildly. Some of the errant boulders were bus-sized. They punched holes through two lanes of bridge decking and shattered across all four lanes. Luckily the slide occurred during the night, when traffic is lighter, and no one was injured.
A 17-mile stretch of the Interstate is closed now, and no one knows when it will be re-opened. Because the area is in a narrow canyon, no nearby detour is possible, so a daily average of 25,000 vehicles will be forced to drive some 200 miles out of their way.
Yep, those signs are in ALL CAPS for a reason.
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Update, March 10: Nature has a cruel sense of humor. Today a woman riding in a car along one of the I-70 alternate routes was killed when a basketball-sized boulder smashed through the roof of the car.
I have relatives that survived a boulder impact with their vehicle while driving through the mountains. It took out the front end of their truck – and this was in a supposedly safe area. The signs do nothing to help you. If you see them, what they mean is that you’re gambling with your life. Yes, your odds are pretty good – but sooner or later, someone is going to die. That’s what the sign should really say.
DEATH ZONE.
They should use this on railroad crossing too!
(And maybe in pay toilets).
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Front end of the truck is a wee bit too close, I’d say. Glad they survived. I don’t think falling rocks have killed anyone on the road in the five years I’ve lived here, but you hear about them blocking roads all the time.
Posted by writerdood | March 10, 2010, 8:17 am MST