{"id":805057,"date":"2020-03-09T15:40:44","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T21:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=380238"},"modified":"2020-03-10T08:08:20","modified_gmt":"2020-03-10T14:08:20","slug":"dillon-dam-road-remains-closed-after-falling-rock-hits-car-protective-netting-tears-from-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/dillon-dam-road-remains-closed-after-falling-rock-hits-car-protective-netting-tears-from-hill\/","title":{"rendered":"Dillon Dam Road remains closed after falling rock hits car, protective netting tears from hill"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A falling rock made a serious dent in Thomas Zieba\u2019s car on the Dillon Dam Road on Sunday afternoon. <\/strong>
Courtesy Zbigniew Zieba<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

DILLON \u2014 The Dillon Dam Road might be closed longer than expected due to heightened rockfall risks caused by major damage to a segment of protective netting in the area.<\/p>\n

Snow and rocks began to slide off the hillside near the Dillon Reservoir\u2019s \u201cglory hole\u201d spillway Sunday afternoon, just south of Silverthorne. According to county officials, while rockslides and small avalanches are typical due to changing weather this time of year, the severity of slides this weekend was notable.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the early afternoon, we had a bunch of snow slides come down from above the cliff face where we\u2019ve got that protective netting,\u201d said Robert Jacobs, county engineer and road and bridge director. \u201cSo we saw the snow and all the rocks coming down yesterday and decided to keep the road closed. As warm as it\u2019s been, obviously it loosened up some of the snowpack and the rocks, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Summit County Public Works Director Tom Gosiorowski said a small avalanche covered an entire 50-yard lane of roadway in about a foot of snow, but he noted that falling rocks were the much bigger concern. One man\u2019s car was hit by a falling rock before the road was closed down.<\/p>\n

Thomas Zieba, a Dillon Valley resident, was driving in his truck from Dillon to Frisco on the Dam Road on business when a rock careened off the hill and slammed into the hood of his car.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was snow,\u201d Zieba recalled. \u201cI didn\u2019t even realize it was a rock, so I just kind of brushed it off and tried to accelerate until I realized the engine was dying. I pulled off the side of the road, walked around, and that\u2019s when I noticed the hood was all dented in and had a big gash in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zieba wasn\u2019t hurt, and he said he was able to drive off with just minor damage after notifying authorities and giving his truck a few minutes to restart.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad has always told me that I\u2019m lucky in unlucky situations,\u201d Zieba said. \u201cIf I have some issues with a car, it\u2019s always been near home. Or if I break down, it\u2019s usually within five or 10 minutes of where I need to be. I\u2019m feeling very lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A small avalanche covered a section of Dillon Dam Road in about a foot of snow. <\/strong>
Courtesy Tom Gosiorowski<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

But county officials aren\u2019t going to rely on luck moving forward, especially with potentially severe damage to a segment of protective netting on the hillside. In addition to what officials characterized as grapefruit-to-volleyball sized rocks bouncing onto the roadway, a large boulder also slammed into the protective netting \u2014 essentially a heavy duty chain-link fence mean to stop rocks from impacting the road \u2014 tearing about a 100-foot-long segment of the netting\u2019s top-line anchors from the hillside.<\/p>\n

The netting is still in place to some degree, though clearly compromised with the boulder still precariously hanging in place.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking at the damage through binoculars is really eye opening \u2014 seeing the number of these steel rods that anchor in that rock netting and seeing the number that were pulled out,\u201d said Gosiorowski. \u201cSections of that rock netting are still very compromised, and that\u2019s the hazard we have the most concern about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gosiorowski said repairs of this kind and magnitude are outside of the county\u2019s capabilities and that his department would be meeting with independent contractors Tuesday morning to come up with a plan of action. He noted that members of the public should expect the road to stay closed until noon Tuesday, though the closure potentially could last much longer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big thing is we know that there are a lot of citizens who enjoy traveling on the road as an alternative to I-70, and we want to open it as soon as we can,\u201d Gosiorowski said. \u201cAt the same time, nobody enjoys getting hit by rocks or boulders. So that\u2019s what we\u2019re thinking about most.\u201d<\/p>\n

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