Colorado Won't Blast Massive Boulder That Crushed Highway

An 8.5-million-pound rock that fell from a ridge onto a Colorado highway won't be blasted to bits, but will be turned into a landmark, Gov. Jared Polis said. The rock will remain on Highway 145 between Cortez and Telluride, and the road will be rebuilt around it.

The boulder, which is the size of a two-story building, tumbled from a cliff 2,000 feet above the roadway, Colorado Department of Transportation officials said.

Another smaller boulder also smashed into the road, carving a deep trench across the highway. The smaller rock has been blasted, and its fragments were carried away.

The new landmark boulder will be dubbed "Memorial Rock," in honor of Memorial Day Weekend, when it fell, officials said.

Leaving the boulder where it fell will save taxpayers around $200,000 in blasting and cleanup costs, Polis said.

The Polis administration was filing federal paperwork for the landmark designation.