Nestled in the brush on the northwest corner of the Arapahoe Road – US 287 intersection is a large stone pillar. At its base is a seldom-seen plaque which reads “Road of Remembrance Gateway.” South across several lanes of traffic is the pillar’s twin. Nearly 100 years ago, Boulder veterans’ and civic groups decided to create a Road of Remembrance honoring the men from Boulder County who served in World War I. The proposed Road was planned for Arapahoe Road, linking Boulder to a newly built section of the Lincoln Highway (now US 287) in the east County. The pillars were built in 1928 to form the Gateway to the Road.
Boulder 9 Mile Pillars
The project was part of a years’ long controversy between Boulder, Longmont and Lafayette over Boulder’s access to the tourist dollars that followed the Lincoln Highway. The Road of Remembrance was never completed yet, over the decades, the pillars became a Boulder County landmark. Recently, CDOT issued a permit to reconfigure the intersection. Inexplicably, no review was performed to determine the impact of the proposed construction on the pillars. An “after the fact” study by CDOT in November 2021 concluded that this new construction both severely impacted the pillars, and created a serious traffic hazard for eastbound traffic.
To mitigate these effects, CDOT formed a working group to develop a plan to preserve and maintain the pillars. Led by the Boulder Rotary Club, a working group of community organizations is analyzing possible alternatives. Over the next few months, the working group will hold public fora concerning the future of the pillars. The first such public forum (in-person and virtual) will be held at the YMCA of Northern Colorado in Lafayette at 7:00 pm on April 12. For more information, go to 9milecornerpillars.com. Article courtesy of Bill Meyer