Chapman Drive, a historic trail built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, is a well-used route connecting Boulder Canyon to Flagstaff Road. In 2023, the city documented about 36,000 visits to the trail — an average of 100 per day.
Now, an estimated $1.4 million construction project is set to begin this week at the trail’s base, expanding the trailhead with more parking, a turnaround for trailers and a picnic area. The project also includes a new pedestrian bridge west of the existing one that links to the Boulder Canyon Trail. Funding for the project is split between the city and county.
The project has sparked debate over its necessity, particularly regarding the bridge. Some residents argue that an additional crossing isn’t needed, given that a bridge already exists. The pushback intensified after city officials initially suggested access to the bottom of Chapman Drive would be closed until fall 2025.
Jeff Haley, deputy director of visitor experience and infrastructure for Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP), later clarified that previous city communications were incorrect and that the trail will remain accessible — though users must cross Boulder Canyon Drive.
“This is something we don’t need to do,” Mark McIntyre, a member of the city’s Planning Board, told Boulder Reporting Lab. “There is no constituency for the bridge.”
Last week, Councilmember Mark Wallach emailed city officials requesting that the project be reevaluated.
“If anyone has not gone to the site itself to see why we have no need for a bridge next to a bridge, I urge you to do so,” he wrote. “I believe that this will be money ill-spent at a time when there is little money to spend.”
Haley said the bridge was largely initiated by Boulder County, which manages much of the Boulder Canyon Trail, as well as the Colorado Department of Transportation, which owns the highway. He acknowledged that many people use the existing bridge without issue but supports the project, saying it will improve access for families, older adults and others.
“The intention is really just to provide a safe, viable opportunity for all of our community members,” he said.
While the underpass and parking lot will be closed during construction, the city confirmed Tuesday that the trail itself will remain open.
The pedestrian bridge proposal has been in the works since the early 2000s, but officials involved in the early planning have since retired, according to Andrew Barth, a spokesperson for Boulder County Public Works. The goal was to complete a trail that was fully separated from the roadway up Boulder Canyon to the base of Chapman Drive.
City and county officials said they were unaware of any crashes between drivers and trail users near the existing bridge. Boulder County crash data since 2021 does not show any significant incidents in the area.
Work is expected to be completed by June 2025.
This is a bit confusing. OSMP says the trail will be open, but can only be accessed from Flagstaff, and anyone descending Chapman must go back up once they get to the bottom, since no one can access the parking lot or Boulder Canyon from the trail.
No you can NOT access Chapman Drive trail from Boulder Canyon Drive during the construction. This change of info was made last week. Shame on OSMP for misleading the public for the last year. You can only get to Campman drive by Flagstaff Rd. The bottom is closed off, so you have to exit at Flagstaff Rd also.
Unneeded project. Horses on this trail would be a disaster. This is the only off-road bike routes out of Boulder into the mountains. Very busy with bikes. Never had a conflict on the bridge.
I don’t care what OSMP says or not, but it will be possible to access Chapman Dr from the road in Boulder Canyon. There are several houses on the lower portion of Chapman Dr and they will have access to Boulder Canyon. The part of Chapman Dr controlled by OSMP does not start until above those houses. OSMP may not want Chapman users to cross Boulder Canyon, but I don’t see how they can prevent it. Of course, users may not want to risk the highway in Boulder Canyon.
I am certain there is no biker in Boulder County who has this bridge on their list of most-wanted safety improvements. Cancel it NOW and use the money elsewhere.
I agree that a new bridge is unnecessary & the money could be better invested elsewhere. I cycle Chapman Drive frequently and have never been part of or witnessed an incident. Thank you BRL for the article.
The project website now says the bridge and trail will remain open at the bottom. I assume that is the authoritative source of information.
I’m generally supportive all all city and OSMP investments to make trails more accessible and infrastructure more durable, but they are losing me on this one. There already is a pedestrian underpass that links the Canyon Trail to the Chapman parking lot. Where exactly is this pedestrian bridge going? Is it just to separate cars from pedestrians on the ~50 yards of dirt parking lot between Canyon Drive and Chapman? If so, it seems unnecessary.
John: Is there money from the State and the County as part of this project? That may explain why the city is moving ahead with it despite it not being a priority for residents.
The closure of the tunnel creates a significant safety issue. Crossing Hwy 119 at grade at that location is quite dangerous because it is at the end of a sharp curve. Eastbound vehicles going 40+mph will not see people crossing the road until they are within about 50 feet.
Is safety the alleged purpose of the new ped bridge? They instead will endanger people for a while. Is someone going to get injured or killed crossing Hwy 119 because of this project?
BTW John, great photo. I know the exact spot where you took the photo and I’ve tried several times to take a similar photo. But my efforts were never as successful. You had great light and many colorful jerseys. Nice shot.
Which agency is paying for this? OSMP?
This feels like an absolutely unnecessary and poorly thought out and justified project that will impact 180,000 users (using the averages noted in the story above) and spend millions to support a userbase that may not exist.
I’ve heard plenty from current users upset at the wasteful spending and disruption for this solution searching for a problem, yet I have yet to hear from one party who sees this a legitimate and necessary project.
I’m curious what grounds were used to justify the business case for this, and the means by which the project is being handled with minimal disruption to the current safety and access to regular users.
We recently moved out of the Lakeshore Park neighborhood where Flagstaff Road ends. Chapman Drive is the ONLY alternative for residents living beyond Realization Point, other than Gross Dam Rd which is partially owned and restricted by Denver Water, in the likely event of a wildfire or other disaster requiring evacuation. We were long told that Chapman Dr’s gate at Flagstaff Rd would be open to us to flee our home area if Flagstaff Rd east of Realization Point was not accessible. Please, any improvements to Chapman Dr, including a new bridge, must be able to support vehicular traffic for residents ONLY in the event of a needed evacuation to prevent loss of life.
This is going to add a new bridge next to, but separate from, the existing car bridge where the Boulder Creek path emerges from the tunnel and does the loop-d-loop to the existing car bridge over Boulder Creek onto Chapman Dr. Hikers/bikers will figure out a way to cross Hwy 119 at grade and then can access Chapman Dr. which will remain open. So for safety’s sake I hope the county installs a real or automated (traffic light) flagman to stop 119 traffic for these bikers (me!)/hikers.
John: Please provide detailed close-up photos and/or maps of the area at the Boulder Canyon end of the drive where current facilities are and the proposed new bridge will (if built) be located. The map on your article doesn’t at all do this so doesn’t clarify what the pro/con fuss is about, including whether the new bridge would significantly enhance access/egress or be redundant with existing facilities. It’s very hard to visualize from the written descriptions.
Check out the OSMP Chapman project page:
https://bouldercolorado.gov/projects/chapman-drive-trailhead-project
This money should be used to repair roads in the city. Stop trying to bring the city into the mountains
This seems like a poor use of funds.
Cyclists will also inevitably cross the road to reach Chapman while construction is happening. The potential for accidents is going to go way up because of this. I hope no one gets hurt.
I bike this route a lot through the year and have never witnessed an issue using the current underpass. Doesn’t mean there’s never been an issue, but it doesn’t seem like there’s really a problem needing to be fixed here.
Maybe different signage would appease concerns or legal fears that are promoting the new bridge?
Completely useless project. Crossing canyon for both uphill and downhill riders in this area is very dangerous due to road curves and car speeds. There is access for peds and handicapped using the existing underpass and adding horses to the trail is a poor choice since people walking dogs are common. And now we will have to deal with horse poop and the flies that will surround it.
As noted, spend the money on road repaving – many busy streets are barely maintained.
When I was a kid we’d drive up Flagstaff for a picnic, then down Chapman Duve and home through Boulder Canyon. At some point it closed. After ten years I realized it was permanent. I didn’t then and don’t know now why it was closed to cars. Never was much of a hiker. Now I walk with a cane. Ejt is this resource denied me?
bluehillbill: the road has deteriorated and is quite narrow in many places. It could not possibly support two-way traffic. Supposedly if a fire evacuation is needed, the gate will be open for downhill car traffic. Driving down would require considerable care.
I was a skeptic about the need for the bridge (see an early comment above). The other evening I biked up Boulder Canyon and then Chapman Dr with my granddaughter’s kids bike club. Everyone had lights. There was an event at the old Red Lion Inn. We crossed the bridge smoothly and safely. As did many other runners and bikers as the daylight dimmed. I’m now glad they built the bridge.
Well, the last time I was in a car on Chapman Drive was probably 1955 in our old 1946 Buick. You also used to be able to drive up to the Bluebell Canyon Shelter House