Erosion is causing parts of the Poudre Trail to collapse into the river

GREELEY, Colo. -- A huge section of the Poudre Trail has eroded and fallen completely into the river in Greeley near Country Road 62, and some residents say the city isn't doing enough to fix it.   

"I think it's extremely scenic, I think it's probably one of the nicest trails around," said longtime Greeley resident Arnold Burron who skates on the trail every day.

However, lately, he said it's become more difficult to skate and at some points even impossible to do so.

"Place for a bike path, not skateable, though," said Burron.

An entire part of the trial near Country Road 62 washed out several months ago and Burron said the city has yet to do anything about it other than mark it with orange cones and put in a dirt bypass.

"It makes me feel frustrated," he said.

"It's sort of a surprise, it's been like that for a good couple of months now," said cyclist James Door.

In the river sits the slabs of fallen concrete and other debris.

Burron believes all of it could have been prevented when it first started eroding after the September 2013 floods.

"This is supposed to be funded by public money, and it's been neglected," he said.

The Poudre River Trail runs from Greeley to Windsor and is described as 21 miles of well-maintained and paved pathways.

The interim trail manager tells Denver7 there are at least six other sections that are also in need of repair before they wash out too.

"Something needs to be done and it needs to be done now," said Burron.

Becky Safarik with the City of Greeley said they are working to get enough money to fix the entire pathway.

She said Greeley has already allotted $50,000 from its 2017 budget and is working with Windsor to see how much it can contribute. They are also working with Weld County who has helped them apply for additional grant money. The trail runs through all three jurisdictions.

Safarik said they hope to start work on the fallen part of the trail by the Spring of 2017.

However, repairs on the entire trail will not be cheap. Safarik said an assessment found it will cost more than $300,000 to fix the trail.