Dear Boulder County Commissioners,
Community Cycles is writing to express our serious concern regarding the abrupt and unexplained closure of the bridge on the Boulder Canyon Bike Path, located adjacent to Highway 119. This closure 20 days ago has been imposed without adequate justification, without notice to the cycling community, and without any provision of a safe alternative route — leaving cyclists with no option but to ride on a dangerous, shoulderless mountain highway.
Lack of Engineering Justification
It is our understanding that the bridge was closed after county workers discovered a hole during unrelated maintenance work. However, it has been 18 days since the bridge has been closed, we are not aware that any licensed engineer has been identified or retained to assess whether the bridge actually poses a safety risk, nor has any structural finding been issued. The bridge has also not undergone any documented inspection since 2015 — a significant lapse that raises questions about the county’s ongoing stewardship of this critical piece of infrastructure. We urge the county to immediately commission a structural engineering assessment so that any closure decision is grounded in objective fact rather than precaution alone.
No Safe Alternative Route Has Been Provided
The Boulder Canyon Bike Path serves not only recreational cyclists but also everyday commuters who rely on it for transportation. With the bridge closed and no detour established, those cyclists are being directed — by default — onto Highway 119: a winding canyon road with no shoulder and high-speed vehicular traffic. This is not an acceptable alternative. It is, in fact, a dangerous one.
This bridge was not built arbitrarily. It was constructed specifically because a cyclist was killed on Highway 119 in 1991 while attempting to navigate the very gap this path was designed to close. That bridge represented the last missing link in a safe, continuous route through Boulder Canyon. Closing it without a viable alternative is to undo decades of work and to recreate the exact conditions that cost a life more than thirty years ago. We cannot overstate the gravity of this situation.
Failure to Notify the Cycling Community
We are also deeply troubled by the county’s failure to notify any of the established local cycling organizations about this closure. The Boulder Mountainbike Alliance (BMA), Community Cycles (CC), Coalition for Cyclists (C4C), and Boulder Junior Cycling were all left uninformed. These organizations represent thousands of Boulder County residents who use this path regularly. They are natural partners in communicating safety information and exploring solutions. Their exclusion from this process is unacceptable and should not be repeated.
Our Requests
We respectfully request that the Board of Commissioners take the following actions immediately:
1. Commission a licensed structural engineer to conduct a formal assessment of the bridge ASAP and publicly release the findings.
2. Identify and implement a safe alternative route for cyclists for the duration of any closure.
3. Reopen the bridge as soon as engineering review confirms it is safe to do so.
4. Establish a formal notification protocol for closures affecting active transportation infrastructure, which must include local cycling advocacy organizations.
5. Brief the BMA, CC, C4C, and Boulder Junior Cycling on the current status and timeline for resolution.
The cycling community has long been a constructive partner in transportation planning in Boulder County. We ask to be treated as such. We look forward to your prompt response.
Community Cycles Advocacy Committee