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TransportationDistrict 4

The High Line Canal underpass at Yale and Holly is open. It took six Council votes since 2022

Trail users can now pass under East Yale Avenue instead of crossing traffic. The $17.3 million project went through the Council as a new fund, an Arapahoe County agreement, a $13.75 million state grant, a gas line relocation and a $9.3 million construction contract.

By Denver Politics staffUpdated

Denver and Arapahoe County officials cut the ribbon on Oct. 27 on a new underpass that carries the High Line Canal Trail under East Yale Avenue at South Holly Street, Colorado Politics reported. People walking and biking the trail no longer have to cross the busy intersection at street level.

Why it matters: the crossing was a long-standing gap in the regional trail network, Colorado Politics reported. City transportation officials said heavy traffic had made it a hazard for trail users, according to the report.

The project

The underpass cost $17.3 million, paid for with the voter-approved 2017 Elevate Denver bond plus regional and federal partners, Colorado Politics reported. Construction began in September 2025 and included the concrete underpass, retaining walls and new trail connections. The partnership with Arapahoe County dates to a 2014 study of improvements on Yale Avenue.

"Our goal is to create spaces where people feel safe moving through their community," Council President Diana Romero Campbell, whose District 4 includes the site, said at the opening, according to the report.

Arapahoe County leads the next phase, starting next year: new traffic signals, turn lanes, wider sidewalks and underground power lines at the intersection.

What our records add: six Council votes

City records show the project coming before the Council at least six times:

  1. June 27, 2022: a new fund. The Council created the High Line Canal/Yale Avenue Improvements capital fund and appropriated money to it (bill 22-0634).
  2. July 11, 2022: Arapahoe County design deal. An intergovernmental agreement with Arapahoe County for $967,000 in design costs for the trail and roadway project (bill 22-0644).
  3. May 20, 2024: the state grant. A $13,750,000 grant agreement with the Colorado Department of Transportation to design and build the underpass, 24-0592. It is the largest single amount in the project's Council record.
  4. Dec. 16, 2024: moving a gas line. A $1,747,245.55 purchase order with Xcel Energy to relocate high-pressure gas facilities at the intersection, 24-1751.
  5. Dec. 2024: county money. Acceptance of $500,000 from Arapahoe County toward the project, 24-1760.
  6. June 16, 2025: the construction contract. A $9,256,362 contract with Jalisco International for a 250-day build, 25-0784.

The grant and construction amounts in these records add up to more than the $17.3 million total because they come from different points in the project and different funding sources; the records do not give a final accounting.

On the record. Romero Campbell has raised the trail in committee before. At an April 7 Parks, Art and Culture Committee meeting, she said she wanted "to make sure we're still moving forward with the high line canal" (video). In June, the Council also approved an agreement with the High Line Canal Conservancy to design and build improvements on the canal's Green Valley Ranch segment in District 11, 26-0747.

Bond projects still to come. At an Oct. 6 Mayor-Council briefing on bond-funded work, a city presenter said many remaining projects will open in 2027, including Skyline Park and the Westwood Recreation Center (video).

What's next