Workers drilled 15-ft.-deep holes into the rock to insert explosives before blasting it apart on May 26. (CDOT photo)

CORTEZ, Colo. (AP) Workers have blasted apart a house-sized boulder that crashed onto and shut down a southwestern Colorado highway linking Durango and Ouray.

The Colorado Department of Transportation said trucks are hauling away fragments of the 1,150-ton (1,047-t) rock from state Highway 145 while workers build a temporary bypass.

The Cortez Journal reported workers drilled 15-ft.-deep holes into the rock to insert explosives before blasting it apart on May 26.

That was done after workers checked the stability of a ridgeline 1,000 ft. (305 m) above from where that boulder and another fell on May 24.

The second boulder crashed across the road, creating an 8-ft. trench. No one was hurt.

Today's top stories

Blalock Crews Build TDOT's $67M Newport Bypass

New Bridges Part of Iowa's $114M Madison Avenue Project

Eagle Bridge Co. Works On Final Leg of U.S. 35 Upgrade

SAKAI Achieves Record Sales, Production

Takeuchi Recognizes Top Dealers at 2024 Dealer Summit

Equip Expo's Summer Giveaway Offers a Chance for Lifetime Trade Show Registration, Gift Card, Hotel Stay

Tennessee's Pugmill Systems LLC Expands Its Product Offerings to Include Concrete Plants

ASCENDUM Machinery Opens New Savannah, Ga., Facility