Sinkhole on Colorado 133 north of Paonia shuts down road.

A gigantic, potentially dangerous sinkhole on Colorado 133 north of Paonia has shut down the roadway in both directions for safety concerns and motorists are urged to avoid the area.

The sinkhole appeared Saturday and it has “significantly damaged the roadway,” according to a Colorado Department of Transportation news release.

Spring runoff caused the sinkhole and there’s also damage to a nearby roadside culvert. CDOT is working on “temporary ways of safely reopening the roadway, but those options will be limited due to ongoing spring runoff and nearby terrain.”

During the closure, CDOT and area emergency agencies are partnering to allow local residents to “extremely limited travel in the area, including for emergency services,” the release said.

“Commuters and local residents should plan on not being able to travel through the area during the closure, due to the size of the sinkhole,” CDOT said.

Motorists heading toward Colorado 82 in the Roaring Fork Valley or Interstate 70 can detour around the closure by using U.S. 50 and I-70. Travelers can use COtrip.org to plan alternate routes in the area and to monitor the situation.

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