All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
A three-quarter mile section of Cottontail Trail between Gunbarrel and Niwot damaged by erosion will be repaired by Boulder OSMP later this spring. A 500-foot section of the trail will also be rerouted to make it more accessible.
A bridge damaged by flooding in the White Rocks Nature Preserve is one of 17 upcoming projects that the Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Department plans to complete in 2019.
A bridge damaged by flooding in the White Rocks Nature Preserve is one of 17 upcoming projects that the Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Department plans to complete in 2019.
City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) held an open house on Feb. 26 to share the upcoming trail repair and maintenance projects for 2019, and two of the intended projects will affect Niwot and Gunbarrel folks who utilize the Cottontail Trail and the White Rocks area.
Addressing recurring erosion issues is the focus of the work on Cottontail Trail, which connects Gunbarrel to Niwot. OSMP will repair ¾ mile of the trail with drainage improvements, including culverts and ditches. They will also reroute and 500-foot section of Cottontail Trail to improve access for users with limited mobility. The project is still in its design phase, with work scheduled to begin in early June.
The East-Boulder White Rocks Trail Bridge, which has been closed since a flood in 2015, will be reopened soon, thanks to the upcoming repair work planned by OSMP. At that time, OSMP was conducting many other repair projects to fix damage from the 2013 floods. Those projects were eligible for reimbursement from the federal government, but had strict completion deadlines to meet, which required OSMP to prioritize repairs from the 2013 flood.
While the East Boulder White Rocks bridge will be eligible for federal reimbursement, it had a longer timeline for the repairs, since it happened after the events of 2013. In addition, this bridge is located along an important creek corridor and its repairs required extensive permitting from local, state and federal agencies. Due to this, repairs originally slated for 2017 were delayed.
OSMP is focusing the work on repairing the bridge abutment and stabilizing the stream bank to reduce the potential for further undermining of the abutment when the next flood event occurs. The existing bridge will be used in the final design, and OSMP will begin the work in early March. The work is estimated to take about three weeks to complete, and then that section of the East Boulder White Rocks Trail will be reopened. Trail visitors are encouraged to follow OSMP on Instagram, Twitter (@boulderosmp) and Facebook for updates, or visit www.osmp.org.
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