Mountain - Plains - C-470 Trail construction - University to Yosemite

Last week crews started construction (destruction?) on the C-470 trail east of Colorado. I thought they would only be replacing a few sections, but they keep tearing up more and have yet to pour any new concrete in here. I spoke to a construction worker last night and she said that they are tearing out all of the trail between Colorado and Yosemite and repaving the entire stretch. This will probably take much of October to complete.

I heard from a friend at work that the recent construction/repair that they did between Broadway and Colorado was done using 4" thick unreinforced concrete. The contract specified for 6" reinforced, so they will be replacing much of this work. They have already started tearing out sections east of University.

If you plan to ride any of these sections in the next few weeks, expect problems if you are on a road bike.

Regards,
Ted

Just and update. Looks like they will be doing work on the trail between University and Broadway as well. There was a large mound of gravel there this morning, so I expect they will start tearing the trail up again soon in this area. As of this morning they have not started paving the section east of Colorado. The trail is all gravel for a mile east of Colorado, no pavement in this section.

This thread saved me a long gravelly trail ride last night, thanks!

And for what it's worth, I know the trail closure is a pain in the short term, but that stretch of 470 trail between Quebec and Yosemite always seemed to be in terrible condition to me (I ride regularly from cherry creek trail to Colorado). Hopefully after they fix it up it'll be decent instead of cracked-up and strewn with bad repairs.

Another update...
They have paved the section for a mile east of Colorado now, but have removed all the pavement for the next mile east to Quebec. They still need to level the dirt around the part that they have paved. It appears that they have finished work on the section west of Colorado to University, but have started removing pavement west of University. The section of work between University and Broadway does not look very extensive, so they may have it finished by this weekend, I wouldn't count on it though.

I would definitely avoid riding the section east of Holly this weekend.

Thanks for the update. I rode County Line from Santa Fe to Quebec today to avoid the mess. It's a pretty fast, straight run, but the traffic doesn't give you much elbow space and the shoulder's non-existent for much of its length. Will be glad when the trail's fully operational again!

Update from my ride today from Santa Fe to Yosemite -
Erickson Blvd to Colorado (crossing Lucent, Broadway and University) is now clear (and quite smooth). Colorado to the wooden bridge near Holly is paved. From the bridge to Niagara was hard-packed dirt (rideable though). At Niagara (just west of Quebec) I was redirected off the path as they had the heavy equipment out. More dirt from Quebec to Willow, where the path was again closed up to Yosemite. East of Yosemite everything looked clear.
They are also working on what looks like a new bike path from Santa Fe to Erickson Blvd. There's a nice little section where it hits 13% gradient, but I think this is only temporary.

Another update:
I thought they were done with the section between University and Broadway, but they are removing pavement there this morning over large sections of the trail. I would expect this section to be under construction for at least the next week.

Yeah, that caught me out this morning too. The trail east of University (to Yosemite) is all done however - very nice.
Saw some guys meandering around on the trail west of Broadway - are they going to rip that section up again?

3 weeks ago they have the path between Quebec and Colorado torn up. I thought they would have the entire section between Santa Fe and Quebec done by now.

In other news, the section of trail that heads north to I-70 from where the trail passes under C-470 was officially opened yesterday. I can now ride to my friend's house who lives near Golden Heights Park without riding on Indiana St.

Broadway to University is still being worked on - a couple of sections maybe up to 1/2 mile still being laid, but they are passable if you don't mind walking on the grass. I'd guess they'd be done by the end of the week. University east to Yosemite is clear. Trail completely closed (during daylight hours, I think) east of Yosemite "Monday to Friday" - not sure how far east that piece stretches, I turned off there.

Broadway to University is completed. There still are equipment and trucks on the side. Rode out from Quebec to Santa Fe to check out the path today.

Trail completely closed (during daylight hours, I think) east of Yosemite "Monday to Friday" - not sure how far east that piece stretches, I turned off there.
The trail continues to Parker Road / Cherry Creek Trail but I doubt construction will come this far, the trail is in great shape once you get past I-25.

FYI: Yesterday, I saw signs that said the bike path is closed between Yosemite and Jamaica M-F from 7a-5p. There's new concrete from Yosemite halfway to I-25.