Do you enjoy motoring in the Colorado Rockies?
If so, shotcrete is saving you money each time you make a trip up to the mountains in colorful Colorado.
How, you ask?
By keeping small rocks, and boulders that can damage vehicles off of the roads and expressways that traverse the mountainous regions of Colorado. Back in 2005 a friend was driving his car up to Winter Park/Mary Jane here in Colorado to enjoy a day in the mountains skiing, unfortunately, his friends and himself arrived late that day.
While ascending a snowy Berthoud pass he ran over what he thought was a chunk of ice or hard-packed snow on the pass. My friend was wrong. What he hit was a large rock that had been dislodged from the side of the mountain and fallen onto the pass. I don’t recall the specifics, however, I know a tire was blown, and an alloy wheel was damaged beyond repair. I believe the replacement cost was in excess of $1,000. A portion of the undercarriage on the car may have been damaged as well. This cost was in addition to the time spent swapping out the damaged wheel for the spare tire in a bitter cold snow storm, and missed time on the mountain.
Perhaps you are not a skier, but if you drive in the Colorado Rockies to take in any of the four seasons we have in Colorado (arguably two seasons to some people) – shotcrete is saving you
money. When my friend ran over that rock, many of the improvements on Berthoud pass had not yet been completed. Since this incident, retaining walls with shotcrete reinforcement have been constructed, as well as shotcrete slope protection that has also been added along sections of Berthoud pass. All to make the pass safer for motorists. During your next journey up the I-70 corridor into the mountains, or down highway 285 to the South Park area, (to name two popular routes) make a note of the different places where shotcrete has been utilized to enhance erosion control measures – helping keep debris off of Colorado’s well-traveled mountain roads.
You will notice shotcrete is ubiquitous in Colorado.