Adams County staff say whitewater plan at Little Dry Creek stalls after BNSF talks fail; $8.45M in county funds at issue

Adams County staff told commissioners at a study session on 2025-10-15 that negotiations with BNSF Railway to convert a 9-foot drop structure at Little Dry Creek into a spread-out, recreational whitewater feature have stalled, leaving an aging, hazardous structure in place and millions of dollars in project funding unresolved.

County staff said the Mile High Flood District first identified the drop as a safety concern and that a multi-agency plan developed over several years had reached about 95% design by 2023 but could not proceed because the county could not secure a liability agreement with BNSF. “It is a liability. It is purely BNSF’s liability currently,” a parks staff member told the board during the presentation.

The board was shown a funding history and several specific figures: the project’s 2023 estimate was about $21 million; the county and partners had assembled roughly $19.7 million at that time, leaving an estimated shortfall of about $2 million.…