Four Corners flooding closes I-40 near Grants, N.M., with no detour and more rain ahead

Flooding across the Four Corners region shut a section of Interstate 40 in New Mexico on Saturday evening, and more rain was still in the forecast for the weekend. Dispatchers running the Southwest corridor should plan for delays into Monday.

What closed

KOB 4 in Albuquerque reported on Saturday evening that I-40 was closed in both directions between mile markers 102 and 108 near Exit 104, between Grants and Albuquerque. The state's NMROADS site listed no detour and no timeline for reopening, according to KOB. The old Route 66 alignment, which drivers sometimes use as a bypass, was also closed. Viewer photos sent to the station showed tractor-trailers stuck on flooded pavement with water above the wheels.

Farther north, the Associated Press reported on Saturday that several days of heavy rain dropped more than 5 inches in some places. U.S. 64 was closed on a 2-mile stretch west of Shiprock, New Mexico, because of water on the road, and U.S. 160 northeast of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, stayed closed. U.S. 550, the Million Dollar Highway, reopened between Durango and Ouray after crews repaired water damage.

The AP said the San Juan River reached a level in Pagosa Springs not seen in more than a century, while the Animas River flooded Durango but stayed below its records. Around 2,000 people were affected in and around Farmington, New Mexico, and hundreds of homes were evacuated and without power. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis added Conejos County to the areas eligible for disaster aid.

What it means for carriers

I-40 is a main east-west truck route, and the closure leaves little room to reroute locally. Drivers coming from the Southern California ports and Arizona toward Texas, Oklahoma and the Midwest may need to look at other long-haul routes, and any detour will add miles and hours. Check NMROADS (nmroads.com) before dispatching and again when drivers are on the road, because conditions are changing by the hour.

Expect missed appointments. Drivers who run into a closure with no detour can burn hours of service waiting, so build in extra time and tell receivers early.

What shippers and brokers should watch

Loads moving through northern and western New Mexico and southwest Colorado are the most exposed. Confirm delivery windows with customers now and ask carriers for their planned route instead of assuming a standard one. If a closure lasts, expect carriers to quote higher for affected lanes to cover extra miles.

The AP said additional storms were expected through the weekend and did not say where they would move next, so more closures are possible. Neither report gave a reopening time for I-40 as of Saturday night.