OURAY COUNTY, Colo. – The Colorado Department of Transportation will close down U.S. Highway 550 over Red Mountain Pass Monday beginning at noon for avalanche mitigation and snow removal efforts.
CDOT says the closure of the highway, which will be in place between the south side of Ouray and Ironton, will likely be “lengthy.”
Crews plan to remove snow through the afternoon and work to control avalanche conditions in an area where natural slides typically occur.
One avalanche happened Sunday afternoon about 10 miles north of Silverton along the pass, which closed the highway for about an hour.
Other stretches of U.S. 550 were closed earlier in the weekend after around 2 feet of snow fell in parts of southwest Colorado in a 24-hour period. The area has received several feet of snow over the past week.
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