Spearfish Canyon Road to remain closed after first blast

Crews must remove more rock from canyon wall before reopening the road.

By Kevin Woster, Journal staff | Friday, January 11, 2008

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SPEARFISH -- U.S. Highway 14A through Spearfish Canyon remains closed Friday , Jan. 11, as crews continue their work to remove dangerous rock from the canyon wall near the road.

Steve Palmer, lead project engineer for the state Department of Transportation, said the road would be closed again Friday because the crews on Thursday couldn't blast all the problem rock areas free from the canyon wall.

"We've got to keep it closed and keep working on it tomorrow," Palmer said late Thursday afternoon. "We still have loose rock on the wall. And we can't open the roadway until we get it all stabilized."

Palmer said that if crews succeed blasting it free and cleaning up the rock as planned, the highway could re-open by Friday evening. "That's a big 'if,'" he said.

Palmer encouraged travelers to use Interstate 90 Exit 17 and U.S. Highway 85 through Lead and Deadwood to access points in Spearfish Canyon above Bridal Veil Falls during the closure. Businesses in Spearfish Canyon will not be affected by the work, he said.

Signs are placed at both ends of Spearfish Canyon notifying motorists of the closure. Travelers should continue to monitor SDDOT.com, call 641-5446 or tune to radio frequency AM 1670 for the most current information. With spotty radio reception, residents above Bridal Veil Falls are encouraged to call the phone line for information.

Rock slides occur regularly in the canyon, but DOT crews monitor the rocks to prevent them from occurring along the road. Occasionally, the agency hires private crews to rappel down from the top of the canyon wall and use pry bars to clear dangerous rocks. The rocks in an unstable area of the wall of the canyon near Bridal Veil Falls were too big, however, for that technique, Palmer said.

Blackwing Blasting of Divide, Colo., is using explosives to dislodge the rocks. But rock structure was more complicated than expected Thursday, Palmer said.

"What happened was the energy dissipated in the fractures and didn't push the rocks out as intended," he said.

Palmer hopes more blasting Friday will solve that problem. Periodic closures are expected in the canyon during a rock-removal project that could take about two weeks.

"We appreciate everybody's patience in this," Palmer said.

On the Net:

South Dakota Department of Transportation: www.sddot.com

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com