The Colorado Department of Transportation will almost double the number of rockfall mitigation projects this year courtesy of FASTER legislation.

“Each fiscal year, we receive $3 million for rockfall mitigation projects, which generally allows for mitigation at three to four sites statewide,” said CDOT Rockfall Specialist Ty Ortiz. “Thanks to some FASTER money, we received $4.3 million this year and are able to accelerate a few of the projects. As a result, we will have at least six projects under way in the next year.”

The 2009 FASTER (Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation & Economic Recovery), legislation collects money from higher vehicle registration fees, rental car fees and other vehicle fees. FASTER is projected to generate approximately $252 million annually for transportation improvements.

According to CDOT, there are 756 locations statewide that are considered having chronic rockfall issues. And just about every canyon in the mountains has some type of rockfall concern. One of the more recent rockfall events was in Glenwood Canyon this past March. A major rockslide crashed onto Interstate 70, puncturing a gigantic hole in the highway as well damaging the median wall. The interstate was closed for several days while debris was cleared and repairs were made.

Ortiz said Glenwood Canyon is one place that will benefit from the additional FASTER money. "We have an area in Glenwood Canyon where we have fences that were installed during the construction of the canyon and through our inspections we've noticed that some of these fences have been hit by rockfall and they either need to be replaced upgraded or repaired."

The CDOT rockfall program, which started in 1996, was created to track rockfall information, implement a rating system to prioritize projects and mitigate potential hazardous areas. When the program first began, CDOT received only $750,000 for mitigation statewide. Now, funding for the Rockfall Program has quadrupled to $3 million a year.

“Our rockfall program is extremely important to the safety of Colorado motorists as it allows us to be proactive in reducing the effects of this natural hazard,” added Ortiz. “The mitigation efforts vary at each location, but our ultimate goal is to provide some sort of protection method and improve stabilization. While we reduce the potential for rockfall incidents through these methods, we can’t always prevent them.”

Most of the time rockfall involved accidents occur when vehicles run into rocks already on the road. On rare occasions rocks can strike vehicles, sometimes with tragic results. Since 1999, there have been nine fatalities on Colorado highways as a result of rocks hitting cars. There have been many more instances of highway closures due to rockfalls.

"The department's goal is to reduce the rockfall hazards when it does happen. That's the reason you see all these nettings, the netting helps keep those small rocks off the road, "said Ortiz.

CDOT said it is starting the projects now because it just received the annual funding for the rockfall projects. Ortiz said summer time is a good time to work because it's a less active time for rockfall.

"The Colorado rockfall season is mainly in the springtime when the state sees most of its moisture. We have the freeze and thaw cycle as well. Sometimes during the end of summer we see the monsoon season and we get heavy rains. The large rockfall are unpredictable and can happen anytime of year," Ortiz said.

The sites CDOT will be focusing on this year include several trouble areas.

I-70 in Glenwood Canyon: Crews will continue to repair and improve existing rockfall fences in Glenwood Canyon. This $600,000 project is scheduled to begin this summer.

I-70 at Georgetown Hill: The $1.4 million project will continue rockfall mitigation at one of the state’s most active sites by installing rockfall fencing and draped rockfall netting. Construction is expected to begin late fall 2010.

U.S. 285 in Turkey Creek Canyon: The project consists of rock scaling, blasting and installation of rockfall netting. The rockfall mitigation work will be combined with a safety improvement project on US 285 between Bailey and Richmond. The rockfall mitigation work is expected to cost between $150,000 and $300,000 and is expected to begin this summer.

State Highway (SH) 82 at Shale Bluffs: Installs draped rockfall netting along SH 82 between mileposts 35 and 37. The $1.5 million project is being funded with $350,000 from the rockfall program and the rest in FASTER safety funds. This project was originally scheduled to take place in fiscal year 2013, but was accelerated two years due to the availability of FASTER funds. Construction is scheduled to begin in late summer to early fall 2010.

SH 145 at Norwood Hill: This $1.7 million project consists of rock scaling and installation of draped rockfall netting. The project will likely begin in July 2010.

SH 133 over McClure Pass: CDOT is just starting to evaluate this site to determine mitigation activities, which could include rock scaling, blasting and installation of rockfall netting. Construction will likely begin in the spring or summer of 2011 and is expect to cost approximately $1.2 million.

To determine which sites are of high priority, several factors are analyzed including slope profile, geological characteristics and traffic statistics. This information is then incorporated into the Colorado Rockfall Hazard Rating System (CRHRS) and sites are then prioritized and selected based on their rating.

"A site that ranks high in our system may not necessarily be the site that caused the most rockfall but is the site that if rockfall does happen there, it has a higher effect on the road. So you will see a lot of our work areas where we have a lot of traffic, like Georgetown hill, or areas that are around a blind corner," said Ortiz.

Since the rockfall program began, about 60 sites have been mitigated. CDOT rockfall specialists also provide additional assistance at nearly 30-40 locations statewide each year in response to rockfalls and other activity.