I-70 Highway ExerciseDuring the evening of November 24, 2004, an 18-wheeler truck flipped...

I-70 Highway Exercise

During the evening of November 24, 2004, an 18-wheeler truck flipped over, forcing the closure of the westbound lanes of I-70 in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado. I-70 is the principal east-west route across the mountains west of Denver, and a high volume of traffic was expected the next day, Thanksgiving. That accident probably saved lives because at about 7:30 the next morning, just up the road from the overturned truck, part of a cliff about 390 meters (1,300 feet) above the highway collapsed. A slab of rock 30 meters (100 feet) high by 10 meters (33 feet) across by 6 meters (20 feet) thick crumbled and crashed onto the roadway right between the accident scene and waiting vehicles. The massive landslide smashed holes in the highway and shut down the route for more than 24 hours. The rockfall damaged two bridges, mangled guardrails, and battered retaining walls.

The construction of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon was a challenge because engineers had to replace a two-lane road with a modern four-lane highway in a narrow, deep canyon that also housed the Colorado River. Each day, 17,000 motorists travel the highway, risking injury or death from falling rocks. Two drivers died in separate incidents in 2003 when boulders crashed into their vehicles, and the Thanksgiving example illustrates the potential for significant loss of life from future incidents.

Imagine that you work for a consulting company hired by the Colorado Department of Transportation to create a plan for protecting motorists on I-70 in Glenwood Canyon from future landslide hazards. Resources are finite and the budget for addressing the problem is limited. What would you suggest the Department of Transportation do to minimize damage and injury?