Detours around I-70 are turning to disaster as 21 Greyhound bus passengers were rescued from the Flat Tops and a tractor-trailer truck blocked Trail Gulch Road for hours after the rear wheels failed to maneuver the backcountry road.
And all while, Colorado’s Democrat senators continued to pretend the $1.2 trillion infrastructure pile of pork could somehow, magically, maybe address the transportation disaster.
With the severe weather and mudslides across our state, we need this Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal now more than ever. It includes $43 billion for wildfire and drought resiliency and $73 billion for the clean energy solutions Colorado needs asap.
— Senator John Hickenlooper (@SenatorHick) August 7, 2021
Memo to Hickenlooper: wildfire and drought resiliency aren’t the problem now in Glenwood canyon — it’s too much rain causing mudslides and flooding that are the issue. Catch up.
Colorado Public Radio seems to be the only media willing to admit there’s no funding for the closed canyon.
Yet they still can’t stop praising the Democrats for supporting the trillion dollar porkapalloza package that includes zero assistance for the Western Slope emergency.
The bipartisan infrastructure deal making its way through the Senate may not have a quick fix for the Glenwood Canyon closure, but it will include investments for Colorado’s roads, water storage, wildfire mitigation systems and more.
“This legislation is a good initial investment in building the 21st century American infrastructure that this moment demands,” Sen. Michael Bennet said in a statement.
What this moment demanded, was an amendment to the 2,000 page infrastructure bill asking for emergency federal assistance.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert is wrangling the entire delegation, including all the Democrats and senators, to request emergency federal assistance to respond to the mudslides.
“According to CDOT preliminary reports, cleanup work, detours, and road closures along the affected portions of the interstate may take weeks to complete. Without sufficient resources to muster a swift response to this emergency, the economic impacts of the I-70 closure will continue to escalate, disrupting individual livelihoods and posing an ongoing hazard to public safety,” the letter said.
The public safety peril of buses and trucks on backcountry dirt roads, we’re already seeing.
👀🚨Heads Up @townofgypsum1 Trail Gulch Road is CLOSED at mile 3 this a.m. due to semi awaiting assistance from a tow this morning. Please stay clear until crews finish. Thanks! pic.twitter.com/gI85zWvhNr
— Eagle County Sheriff’s Office (@EagleCountySO) August 8, 2021