Silt Happens: Mudslide Shuts Down I-70 Near Silt Colorado
You had one job, Silt.
And somehow the town with the joke bumper stickers managed to live up to them again.
Your Name Finally Caught Up to You
The town at Exit 97 got its name because the original settlement sat on piles of river silt.
Since 1989, locals have been driving around with bumper stickers that read SILT HAPPENS. It's one of those goofy Western Colorado traditions that survives because nobody takes it seriously.
That Was, Until Monday Night
A mudslide shut down both directions of Interstate 70 between Silt and New Castle, and by 4:30 Tuesday morning the interstate was still closed. Around here, that's the kind of closure that changes a whole morning, because there aren't exactly six alternate routes waiting in the wings.
This is the Stretch of I-70 That Everyone Ignores
Everybody worries about Glenwood Canyon.
That's the famous problem child. The towering walls. The Grizzly Creek burn scar. The constant feeling that Mother Nature is evaluating your life choices while you drive underneath her.
But this wasn't the canyon.
This was the stretch west of it that most of us barely notice. Exit 97 through Exit 105 is where traffic settles down, the speed limit says 75, and half the valley quietly interprets that as a polite suggestion.
Burning Mountain sits off to the north near New Castle, still smoldering underground after more than a century. The geology around here has always been a little... opinionated.
Monday, the hillside decided to join the conversation.
Read More: Colorado's Wildfire Burn Scars Now Face Flash Flood Danger
Peach Valley had it even rougher
The interstate grabbed the headlines.
Peach Valley Dealt with the Water
County Road 214 disappeared under fast-moving water where it meets Mid Valley Lane, with logs scattered across the pavement and both roads forced closed. US-6 also took a hit near mile marker 100 before reopening around 1 a.m.
I-70 wasn't so lucky. Crews waited for daylight before getting a real look at what had come down the hillside.
Turns out "SILT HAPPENS" works a lot better on a bumper sticker than it does as a weather report.