Virginia Village's Trail Crossings Got Easier This Year. What Changed at Yale, Bible Park and Monaco, and What's Coming in 2027

On October 27, a group of walkers and cyclists set out on the High Line Canal Trail near South Holly Street and East Iliff Avenue and followed the canal south toward Yale. When they reached Yale Avenue, they didn't have to wait for a gap in traffic. They went under the road through a new underpass, and city and county officials cut a ribbon there.

That underpass is the biggest of three crossing projects finished at Virginia Village's edges in 2026. All three targeted the same weak points, the places where the trails along the neighborhood's southern and northern borders meet busy streets.

Where the trails meet the traffic

The High Line Canal crosses Yale Avenue four times, more than it crosses any other road, according to the High Line Canal Conservancy. Each of those crossings is a spot where a calm, tree-lined trail meets one of southeast Denver's main east-west roads. On the north side of the neighborhood, the Cherry Creek Trail passes under Monaco Parkway at a bridge that had stood for 60 years.

Here is where each of those crossing points stands as of November 2026:

The first three are done. The fourth is the reason Yale and Holly will see construction again next year.

Under Yale at Holly

Denver's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure said the new underpass "closes a longstanding gap in the regional trail network." Heavy congestion near the Holly intersection had made the street-level crossing hazardous for trail users. Along with the tunnel itself, the project added retaining walls, graded concrete trail connections on both sides of Yale, and new curbs, gutters and storm drainage.

The project took years to arrive. Denver and Arapahoe County had been working on it together since 2014. The underpass received $6.2 million from the voter-approved 2017 Elevate Denver GO Bond, plus funding from regional and federal partners. David Evans and Associates designed it, and Jalisco International built it. The Denver Gazette covered the October 27 ribbon-cutting after a year of construction.

At the ceremony, Council President Diana Romero Campbell, who represents District 4, spoke about her own history with the canal. The city's announcement quoted her:

"My family and I grew up playing, walking, running, and biking along the canal in southeast Denver, and I know how many people use and value this trail. I'm thrilled the new underpass offers a safer way to enjoy a trail that's been an integral part of this community for so long."

Holly Street, which runs north to south through the neighborhood, leads straight to the underpass. Two places along it are useful for a stop on the way. Detour Bakery at 1479 S. Holly Street lists daily hours of 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Farther south, Esters Virginia Village at 1950 S. Holly Street lists dine-in and carryout from 11 a.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends.

Two crossings into Bible Park now flash

East of Holly, the canal crosses Yale twice more where it enters Bible Park. The 66-acre park is at 6802 E. Yale Avenue. These crossings didn't need a tunnel, so the city added equipment at street level. According to the High Line Canal Conservancy, Denver installed new signage, ADA upgrades and Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons, the push-button pedestrian lights that blink to warn drivers. The work was finished in summer 2026.

With these and the underpass, three of the canal's four Yale crossings got safety work in a single year. On a walk along this stretch, the canal now passes under Yale at Holly and crosses at signaled, lit crosswalks at Bible Park.

Monaco's 60-year-old bridge, replaced

The same kind of change happened on the north side. Denver removed the 60-year-old Monaco Parkway bridge over Cherry Creek and built a new one. The project connected the new bridge to both directions of Cherry Creek Drive, repaved the Cherry Creek Trail and widened the sidewalks over the bridge. The city's 2026 project archive puts the cost at about $12.7 million, paid for by the Elevate Denver Bond. The Cook Park Neighborhood Association identified Kraemer North America as the contractor.

The department's July 2026 newsletter declared the bridge complete. Travel lanes were in their final permanent alignment, and turn lanes had been put back.

The bridge sits beside Cook Park. Cook Park Recreation Center is at 7100 Cherry Creek South Drive. Garland Park is a little west at 6300 E. Mississippi Avenue, on the same stretch of the Cherry Creek Trail. The bridge project also led to a public art commission for that stretch. Denver Public Art selected Byrony Roberts to create organic seating inspired by cherry stones, with two community workshops planned. The commission is tied to the Monaco bridge replacement, and its call for artists sets December 31, 2027 as the completion and installation date.

The next crossing to change is the intersection itself

The underpass solved the problem for people on the trail. The Yale and Holly intersection above it still has an old hanging-wire traffic light and narrow sidewalks along Yale. Arapahoe County is leading Phase 2, which is scheduled to start in spring 2027 and finish in fall 2027. According to the county's project page, the work includes:

1. A new traffic signal on modern metal poles, replacing the hanging-wire light
2. Eight-foot-wide concrete sidewalks along Yale from Holly Street east to Locust Street
3. Upgraded crosswalks at the intersection, so people can reach the new underpass on foot
4. An extended westbound lane and a second eastbound lane
5. Overhead power lines moved underground around the intersection and for 400 feet to the east

Phase 2 builds on the underpass. The new crosswalks and wider sidewalks are designed to get people from the surrounding blocks to the tunnel. The county says it will post construction schedules and traffic impacts on that page. In a separate item, Denver's underpass project page lists a proposed bridge connection at Jersey Place as unfunded and unlikely in the foreseeable future.

On longer rides north this winter

Rides that follow the canal north past Virginia Village into the Windsor neighborhood will hit a closure this winter. Since November 3, the High Line Canal Trail has been closed between Valentia Street and Dayton Street, and the closure runs through January 2027. Denver Parks and Recreation's trail detours page sends trail users along Clinton, Alameda and Fairmount Drive, with detour signs posted.

The closure is part of a larger resurfacing project from Parker Road to Havana Street. Narrow asphalt is being replaced with a 12-foot concrete trail and a 6-foot gravel side path. The Conservancy says construction began in June 2026 and will be completed in early 2027. Denver and Arapahoe County Open Spaces developed that trail design for the canal's stretches in southeast and east Denver.

The underpass at Holly, the beacons at Bible Park and the new Monaco bridge changed which Virginia Village streets now have the easiest route onto a trail. If you're thinking about how close a home sits to the new crossings at Yale, Bible Park or Monaco, The David Bell Group can walk those blocks with you.