Heading north or south on the Lone Tree Creek Trail, you reach a point where the trail stops at East Arapahoe Road. To keep going, you walk or ride to the crosswalk at South Revere Parkway and cross a road with a 55-mile-per-hour speed limit and an annual average daily traffic volume of 52,000 vehicles, according to the City of Centennial.
On the west side of town the problem is the same, just less visible. Lee Gulch Trail users who reach Broadway just north of Jamison Avenue have to detour 800 feet to the Jamison intersection, crossing a high-traffic signal and an access route to AdventHealth Littleton Hospital before they can pick up the trail on the other side.
Centennial's trails don't come up short on miles. They come up short where they cross the big roads. Over the next several months, both of those crossings are being rebuilt so people on foot and bikes go under the traffic. In August the city also adopted a rule that takes the fastest e-bikes off the trails entirely. Every one of these changes separates trail users from fast vehicles, so how your regular loop feels by spring 2027 depends on where it crosses a major road.
Lee Gulch: a crossing planners wanted for decades
The Broadway project started as a repair job. In 2024, crews found that a 66-inch corrugated metal culvert sitting 30 feet below Broadway was deteriorating. City engineers and specialists with Mile High Flood District stabilized it temporarily but confirmed that it needed full replacement.
Replacing the culvert meant digging a 30-foot trench under one of the area's busiest roads. The City of Littleton used that opening to add a pedestrian underpass, something that had been named as a goal for decades in local plans, including the public-led Broadway Corridor Study and the Littleton Linkages Trail Study. The city's own project page says the underpass "was generally considered a longshot" because of how hard major work beneath Broadway is.
The project belongs to Littleton, but Centennial lists it among its own roadway projects because it gives people "safer travel and connectivity in and out of the west side of Centennial, across the Broadway corridor." South Suburban lists Lee Gulch Trail at 4.56 miles. Visit Littleton describes it as the link between the Mary Carter Greenway along the South Platte River and the High Line Canal Trail. Lee Gulch Overlook marks the west end, and the east end starts near Horseshoe Park off West Dry Creek Court. The underpass fills the one gap in that line, and Littleton says it will give residents east of Broadway safer access to the High Line Canal Trail on the west side.
Here is the status as of October 1. Littleton's project page lists the work as "Under Construction," with completion in October 2026. The update text on the same page says construction will continue through late fall. Most of the remaining work is off the roadway: trail connections, a 10-foot flood wall, several retaining walls and a pedestrian bridge. Broadway itself went back to four lanes in July, as reported by the Littleton Local Buzz newsletter. No opening date has been posted for the underpass. Until the city announces one, plan on the Jamison detour.
Arapahoe Road: three phases, and three different walks
The Lone Tree Creek Trail underpass is Centennial's own project, built with the Colorado Department of Transportation. The $4.3 million job puts a concrete box culvert under East Arapahoe Road between South Revere Parkway and South Potomac Street, dedicated to people walking and biking. The city's roadway projects page says state and federal funds cover 90 percent of the cost, with a 10 percent city match. Once it's finished, trail users won't have to cross at the Revere crosswalk at all.
Construction began in spring 2026 and runs through spring 2027. The city is building it in three phases, moving traffic each time so crews can work behind concrete barriers. Each move changes which sidewalk you can use.
| Phase | Timing | Where Arapahoe traffic runs | Sidewalks |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Summer 2026 | Shifted south | Westbound, north-side sidewalk closed, with signed detour |
| II | Fall 2026 | Shifted to the outside lanes in both directions | Both sidewalks open |
| III | Winter 2026 to spring 2027 | Shifted north | Eastbound, south-side sidewalk closed, with signed detour |
The city's project page still describes the summer setup. The north-side sidewalk and the northeast crosswalks at Revere are closed, while the south and west crosswalk approaches stay open. Pedestrians are detoured through Centennial Center Park to Peakview. Phase II is the stretch when both sidewalks are scheduled to reopen. Phase III then closes the opposite side over the winter. The city notes that all dates depend on weather and can change.
Drivers have their own set of rules for the whole project. At Arapahoe and Revere, every left turn is restricted and only right turns are allowed. The city suggests South Peoria Street or South Potomac Street for north-south trips and East Peakview Avenue or East Briarwood Avenue for east-west trips and business access. Lanes are narrowed to 10 feet, the construction-zone speed limit is 45 mph, and at least three lanes stay open in each direction at peak hours. RTD Route 153 has been rerouted at Revere and Arapahoe.
The payoff goes beyond a single intersection. The city's communications director, Allison Wittern, described the trail's role this way in the Centennial Citizen:
"The Lone Tree Creek Trail provides critical links for residents, local businesses and the Cherry Creek regional trail system, connecting to the Highline Canal and Willow Creek Greenbelt Trails."
Wittern said that over time, the underpass should help connect toward Dove Valley Regional Park to the southeast and Cherry Creek State Park to the north. She framed those links as future goals, not finished routes.
The same summer, a rule about speed on the paths
While crews worked on keeping trail users away from Arapahoe traffic, the City Council took on speed on the trails themselves. Council approved Ordinance 2026-O-13 on Aug. 18, and the city announced on Aug. 20 that it took effect immediately. The city developed the rules with the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office and its park and recreation districts, aiming for consistent expectations across streets, sidewalks, multi-use paths and parks.
Here is what applies on local trails now:
- Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes are generally allowed anywhere regular bicycles are, including many trails and shared-use paths, unless signs say otherwise.
- Class 3 e-bikes and electric motorcycles are prohibited on sidewalks and trails and may ride on city streets under applicable traffic laws. The detailed rule makes exceptions for routes that function as roadway-adjacent bike lanes and for paths with official signs allowing Class 3.
- South Suburban trails allow Class 1 and 2 e-bikes where bicycles are allowed, require a permit for Class 3, and set a 15-mph trail speed limit.
- Other provisions include a minimum age of 16 to operate an electric motorcycle, helmets for riders under 18, limits on modifying standard e-bikes to go faster than the manufacturer's design, and enforcement that can include fines, parental liability and impoundment.
One detail matters if you look things up. Centennial's e-bike information page still calls the Class 3 restriction "proposed," but the city's Aug. 20 announcement confirms the ordinance was adopted and is in effect. Together, the underpasses and the e-bike rule do the same thing from opposite directions. The underpasses take trail users out of road traffic, and the ordinance sends the fastest riders back onto the road.
Centennial Center Park sits right next to the work
Centennial Center Park, at 13050 E. Peakview Ave., borders the Arapahoe work zone, and it's where the city routes pedestrians around the closed sidewalk. On Saturday, Oct. 17, from 1 to 5 p.m., the park hosts Sip in Centennial, with local beverage tastings, food trucks and live music. The city asks park visitors, cyclists and pedestrians to keep a safe distance from the active construction zone. If you're driving to the park that afternoon from north of Arapahoe, the city's suggested routes are Peoria, Potomac and Peakview, since Revere still allows only right turns at Arapahoe. For live lane closures before you go, the city points to COtrip.org.
For more on what's changing around town, see our Centennial neighborhood page, our look at how Centennial's restaurant row keeps turning over, and our Littleton page for the other side of Broadway.
At Petrone Properties, we keep track of projects like these because they change how a street works day to day, from which crosswalk is open to how far the nearest trail connection really is. If you're thinking about a move and want to talk through what the Lee Gulch and Lone Tree Creek work means for your part of Centennial, we're glad to start with a free home valuation and a conversation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
