'Decades in the making': Gaps along Poudre River Trail nearing completion

It's been nearly 40 years in the making, but the Poudre River Trail is nearing completion.

The more than 40-mile-long trail stretches from Bellvue to Greeley, with a few final gaps in the system in Fort Collins and on the east side of Interstate 25 set to be completed by early 2023.

Larimer County, Fort Collins, Timnath, Windsor and the Colorado Department of Transportation were collectively awarded about $2 million from a Great Outdoors Colorado grant in 2019 to complete the outstanding segments of the Poudre River Trail, Fort Collins Senior Planner Kyle Lambrecht said.

A recent $250,000 grant from Colorado Parks and Wildlife awarded to Larimer County and the town of Timnath secured the remaining funds needed to build a 1-mile trail segment connecting Windsor and Timnath along the Poudre River Trail. Timnath will pay an additional $290,000 for this segment, with $160,000 coming from the 2019 grant, town Community Development Director Matthew Blakely said.

New Poudre River Trail segment to connect Windsor, Timnath

The new trail segment will connect Kyger Open Space in Windsor with the Poudre River Trail system in Timnath, completing most of the trail system on the east side of Interstate 25, Larimer County Planning and Natural Resource Specialist Zac Wiebe said.

"It's been decades in the making, and we're really excited to see the completion date in the near future," Wiebe said.

The alignment of the Poudre River Trail through Timnath will be a combination of existing and new trails, Blakely said.

How we got here: Poudre River Trail provides a strip of paradise from Bellvue to Greeley

Connecting the east and west segments of the Poudre River Trail will likely happen in 2023 with the completion of a new trail segment from the Colorado State University Environmental Learning Center to Arapahoe Bend Natural Area and out almost to Interstate 25, Lambrecht said, connecting the city's existing trail system to Timnath on the east side of I-25.

Final Poudre River Trail connection expects to be completed by 2023

The $2.3 million to $2.7 million trail segment is set to be completed sometime next year, but discussion with the landowners along the trail's path are ongoing, which could affect the project's timeline, Lambrecht said.

Fort Collins was awarded about $1 million from the 2019 GOCO grant to finish building trail segments in city limits, Lambrecht said.

"Needless to say, the city is grateful for the collaboration with our regional partners and developers in creating the existing Poudre Trail system both in Fort Collins and the region," Lambrecht said in an email. "We are also excited to continue these partnerships to construct the remaining segments; completing a regionally significant trail system that connects the community to the outdoors."

The final connection of the trail's east and west segments will be completed as part of the I-25 Express Lane project, Wiebe said, which includes replacing a bridge along the trail and building an underpass to accommodate the trail. This piece will also likely be complete sometime in 2023.

Coloradoan reporter Miles Blumhardt contributed to this report.

Sady Swanson covers public safety, criminal justice, Larimer County government and more throughout Northern Colorado. You can send your story ideas to her at sswanson@coloradoan.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Poudre River Trail in Fort Collins, Windsor, Timnath nearly complete