Cottontail Trail improvements back on

The City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) recently announced that active construction of the Cottontail Trail north of Lookout Road and east of the Gunbarrel Estates would resume on Monday, Jan. 24.

This section of the Cottontail Trail will be closed for the duration of the construction and is expected to re-open sometime in mid-April, weather permitting, pending the completion of the trail.

The ongoing realignment and resurfacing project is part of a larger improvement effort begun in March 2021 for the Cottontail Trail. The main section of the Cottontail Trail that is part of the Longmont-to-Boulder Regional (LoBo) Trail is currently open ​and will remain open with the exception of short maintenance closures later this year.

The segment of the Cottontail Trail that runs north-south along the eastern edge of Gunbarrel Estates connecting the LoBo Trail to Highway 52 was originally slated to be completed in fall 2021, but the project hit an unexpected delay when the original contractor notified OSMP that it was not able to continue construction activities.

Phillip Yates, spokesperson for the OSMP, was not able to provide any additional details about why the original contractor was not able to complete this work, but did note that there were no major changes to the project's budget as a result of the delay.

"City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks appreciates community members' patience while we worked to secure a new contractor to conduct maintenance and repair work along the trail," said Yates.

The repair work on this section of the trail is intended to fix a chronic problem with heavy erosion on steep sections of the trail.

"Work along the trail will include the building of concrete drainage structures to make the trail infrastructure more resilient during future rain events," Yates said.

He noted that the work aligns with one of OSMP's main departmental priorities, as identified in the city's Master Plan, which is to address ongoing trail maintenance needs across the city's 155-mile trail system.

"In addition, we will re-route a 500-foot section of the trail at Lookout Road to reduce trail grades and help make it more accessible to visitors, including people experiencing disabilities," he said. The trail will be resurfaced once the re-route is complete.

The final timeline for the completion of the project hasn't been determined as the weather will play into the project's progress. Yates noted that though the ground doesn't have to be clear of snow for certain aspects of the project to progress, there are other considerations with the weather that will have to be taken into consideration.

"The City of Boulder and Open Space and Mountain Parks have best management practices that encourage contractors to cease certain aspects if work during those conditions creates unneeded impacts, such as erosion. Temperatures will also play a role since concrete will be used for portions of the project," he said..

In the meantime, trail users should avoid the half-mile section of the Cottontail Trail with the marked closure-trespassing on the closed trail could result in a $1,000 fine or up to 90 days in jail. Until the trail reopens, the LoBo Trail can be accessed from North 71st Street to bypass the closure.