Guardsman Pass shut down Monday, Oct. 12, after runoff from the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel damaged the road through Big Cottonwood Canyon.

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) closed the SR-190 segment at 9:30 p.m., citing winter conditions, and estimates it will reopen the morning of Thursday, Oct. 15. The exact reopening time has not been set, UDOT Cottonwood Canyons said on X.

Drivers can still travel on SR-190 below the closure point. UDOT has not announced a detour route for travelers who would normally use Guardsman Pass to cross between Big Cottonwood Canyon and Park City.

The closure follows a weekend of storm damage that also forced a separate shutdown of lower Big Cottonwood Canyon, as we reported Monday. Excessive runoff on Sunday, Oct. 11, damaged the road, and UDOT crews were clearing debris from a culvert near Storm Mountain at milepost 4.25, according to Gephardt Daily.

John Gleason, UDOT's public relations director, told ABC4 the storm hit hard and fast.

"It was an intense storm, and it brought down a lot of trees, a lot of rocks, just everything that you see on the mountainside here," Gleason said.

He added that more material on the mountainside could still come down and that UDOT has heavy equipment positioned and ready to respond.

UDOT had forecast the trouble days earlier. On Friday, Oct. 9, the agency warned that Rachel's remnants would bring heavy rain and wind to the SR-190 and SR-210 corridors beginning Sunday, with colder temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday potentially bringing snowfall to Guardsman Pass. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for much of Utah, including Salt Lake City, ahead of the storm, according to NPR.

Sandy-area residents who use Big Cottonwood Canyon to reach Brighton and Solitude should check UDOT's Cottonwood Canyons page or follow @UDOTCottonwoods on X for real-time road updates before heading up the canyon.