BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - Crews have been working to dislodge boulders from a cliff to reduce the risk of rockfall on a neighborhood in Billings.
A rock slide Sept. 21 sent a boulder into one home and left debris on a street.
City workers have been eager to reopen the street but wary of using explosives to break the boulders apart. They don’t want vibrations to send more rocks down from nearby cliffs known as the Rims.
Crews on Friday worked to dislodge two loose boulders above the neighborhood. One boulder came down with help from a balloon inflated inside a crack.
The other boulder resisted four attempts to bring it down with explosives. Workers planned to try again in the days ahead, the Billings Gazette reports.
The workers used netting and fencing to keep the falling rock from causing more damage or disruption.
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