STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO-November 4, 2019-How do you cross one of the busiest roads in the city? In this case, the city decided to go under the highly traversed US40 highway to ensure several pedestrian and bike trails safely connect two vital areas along Fish Creek.
The Fish Creek US40 Underpass Trail is completing construction and will host a dedication at 1pm on Thursday, November 7, to officially open the city’s newest trail. The underpass is like other trail underpasses found around town such as at Walton Creek and Highway 40 and the Yampa River Core Trail crossing under 13th Street.
“Just as the planning and design phase were significant efforts, the construction portion also proved to have many challenges including an early start to winter that made getting to the finish line tricky,” commented Public Works Engineer Danny Paul. “With work wrapping up nicely, we are excited to unveil the finished product and a new and safer way to get bicyclists and pedestrians across Highway 40.”
Steamboat Springs’ Native Excavating served as the general contractor and will complete the project close to the originally announced completion date of early November despite record snow in October and colder than normal temperatures.
Seven years in the making, the new underpass creates a grade separated trail along Fish Creek that travels underneath US 40 between Safeway on the east side and Walgreens and the Yampa Valley Housing Authority’s affordable housing complex, Alpenglow Village, on the west side. The project consisted of approximately 700 linear feet of new multi-use concrete trail and includes concrete retaining walls, storm drain and water quality systems and landscaping that protect as much of the riparian areas within this constrained site as possible.
The Fish Creek US40 underpass took years of planning and engineering as well as property acquisition to make this trail come to fruition. The $750,000 construction cost was funded in part by the City of Steamboat Springs, 2A Trails, the Colorado Department of Transportation, and Colorado Parks & Wildlife.
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Contact
Danny Paul, Public Works Engineer, 970.871.8210 or email