The East Section of the I-70 Floyd Hill Project is in full swing! Since the Project began July 6, crews have completed pavement repairs on I-70, finished their first traffic shift on eastbound I-70 and established the workzone by setting up signage and temporary concrete barrier. Crews will begin rock scaling operations in late-July prior to beginning rock blasting activities, which are scheduled to begin in mid-August. Rock scaling and blasting will take place adjacent to the eastbound lanes of I-70 between the US 6 interchange and Hyland Drive (Mile Point 247). About 20 feet of material will be removed alongside the outside lane to widen eastbound I-70 for an extended on-ramp from US 6 to the top of Floyd Hill.
Rock scaling is the process of removing loose and unstable material from the rock blasting area to mitigate rockfall. This work begins the week of July 31 and will continue for about two weeks. Crews will scale rocks up to four times a day, Monday through Thursday, within a 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. time frame, which is historically an off-peak travel time range. During each operation, motorists can expect traffic holds of up to 20 minutes in both eastbound and westbound directions which may result in up to 45 minutes delays as the last of the traffic queues clear. Crews will wait until traffic is flowing at normal speeds before conducting another round of scaling operations to prevent extreme traffic impacts.
Once rock scaling is complete, crews will begin rock blasting activities. Rock blasting is the process of drilling a hole into the rock and placing explosive and void-filling materials into the hole. A controlled blast is then triggered to fracture the rock so it can be excavated and removed from the site. When rock blasting begins in mid-August, it will occur once a day and one or two times per week, Monday through Thursday, between a 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. time frame, and Fridays, between a 9 a.m. and noon time frame. Traffic will be held in both the eastbound and westbound directions for the safety of motorists and crew members during blasting operations and will be released once rock is cleared from the roadway. There will be an estimated 30 blasts in the East Section of the Project through early 2024. Motorists are strongly encouraged to sign up for text alerts to stay in the know on when rock blasting will occur during the week and what time of day. To sign up for alerts, text “floydhill” (one word) to 21000.
View the East Section rock blasting map below and FAQs to learn more about the Project area and to get your questions answered!
The East Section rock blasting map shows the five different areas (i.e. orange blast icons on map) between the US 6 interchange and Hyland Drive (MP 247) where blasting will occur alongside eastbound I-70.