Pillars Mitigation Working Group – Recommendation to CDOT and SHPO to Relocate WWI Pillars

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A local community working group is formally recommending to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) that the World War One Pillars currently located at Nine Mile Corner be relocated to a small area approximately 150 feet to the northeast of their current location. The recommendation places the future location of both pillars on the northwest corner of the U.S. Highway 287 and U.S. Highway 7 (Arapahoe Road) intersection. The recommended new location will place the two pillars in close proximity to each other with both pillars facing southeast towards the intersection. The recommendation proposes that the new location be landscaped to incorporate many of the original design elements of the Road of Remembrance Gateway site (known locally as “The Pillars”). The working group, led by the Boulder Rotary Club, American Legion, and Daughters of the American Revolution, conducted a fifteen-month review which considered approximately two dozen alternatives and locations, and held four public hearings to gauge public sentiment.

The World War One Pillars were constructed in 1928 as part of the planned Road of Remembrance development along Arapahoe Road between Nine Mile Corner and Boulder. The original pillars were accompanied by a captured World War One German cannon. The cannon was removed and scrapped in the early 1970s after having been severely damaged by car accidents. Due to earlier development and expansion of the intersection in 1980, the north pillar was moved farther north, toppling over in the process. The pillar was re-built at that time in its new location. Now, additional development of Nine Mile Corner includes plans to reconfigure the intersection once again necessitating the working group’s review and recommendation to save the pillars by relocating them.

The south pillar contains a time capsule from its original construction, the contents of which are expected to be revealed when the pillars are moved to their new home.

Read the letter of recommendation here.