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The 8.5-million-pound rock that sailed down a Colorado highway as part of a "significant" rock fall will remain unchanged – and officials plan to redirect traffic on the roadway because of it.
Democratic governor Jared Polis announced Tuesday that if the road repair and the destruction of the stone would cost $ 1.5 million, $ 200,000 in taxpayers' money will be saved by not blowing up the huge rock, although the state will still spend $ 1.3 million to divert the Colorado Highway.
The huge block of stone weighs about 8.5 million pounds will remain on Highway 145 in Colorado, officials said.
(Colorado Department of Transportation)
The move would save taxpayers money and possibly create a tourist attraction. Officials said part of the $ 1.3 million comes from emergency funding from the federal government.
The rock crashed on the highway on May 24, near the town of Dolores, located in the southwestern part of the state. This is one of the many stones that tumbled into the street and dug a trench 8 feet above the roadway. Officials quickly stated that the road was "closed indefinitely" because of the rocks.
THE COLORADO MOTORWAY IS CLOSED "INDEFINITELY" AFTER THE MASSIVE BOULDERS OF SMASH ROADWAY
Last week, one of the big rocks – weighing around 2.3 million pounds – was destroyed by construction crews who tried to reopen the roadway.
The rock mass has closed "indefinitely" Highway 145.
(City of Ouray)
The Colorado Department of Transportation said the teams immediately removed the rock fragments to reopen the road.
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It is relatively common for smaller rocks and rocks to fall on mountain roads, especially in the spring, after the repeated melting and freezing of snow and ice creates new cracks on the mountainside.
Travis Fedschun and Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this report.
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