Some cyclists are getting interested in a plan to build the new Colo. 119 Bikeway project, according to Sue Pant, executive director of Community Cycles, a nonprofit group in Boulder.

“It’s a great project. Everybody is coming together to make this a great and remarkable project,” said Prant. “It is more convenient and accessible, and will be paved, which means it can be ridden at all times as it won’t get muddy or have water issues.”

The planned bike trail is expected to be in the middle of Colo. 119 between Boulder and Longmont, and may include at least one bridge over the road at 63rd Street near Gunbarrel so that cyclists do not interact with cars as much as they do now. The new path would be 9 miles and would be a direct route between the two cities. An existing path — the Longmont-Boulder trail, or LoBo trail, is 15 miles. Various government groups have set aside $162 million for the new trail and other transportation upgrades on Colo. 119, including bus rapid transit buses and a new Gunbarrel Shuttle service, among other things.

“It is kind of like saying, why do you need a stove when you have a camp stove, or a clothes washer when you have a bucket? Yes, a camp stove and a bucket can do the job — sort of — but they are a lot more difficult to use, they don’t do as good a job, and you will wind up cooking or washing a lot less,” Prant said in comparing the new planned trail with the existing LoBo trail.

In addition, planners feel like the new trail would be more safe for bicyclists than existing bicycle routes, said Alexandra Phillips, the project manager for the Colo. 119 Bikeway project. The existing LoBo trail weaves through multiple intersections — some of which have experienced fatalities, Phillips said.

Planners want to get public input on the 63rd Street overpass/bridge plan and the planned new Colo. 119 Bikeway at a community meeting set for 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Provisions restaurant at the Hampton Inn, 6315 Lookout Road. The Colo. 119 Bikeway plan originally included an underpass at 63rd Street, but planners found that there was an existing underground water line that could add time and money to the project, Phillips said.

“We decided to go with the overpass rather than the underpass because it is the cheaper and faster way to complete the project,” Phillips said.

Representatives from Boulder County, the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Regional Transportation District and the cities of Boulder and Longmont will host the Tuesday meeting. It’s meant for anyone who has an interest in the Diagonal Highway and the soon-to-be built bikeway, Phillips said.

Representatives also will discuss the Gunbarrel Shuttle, which is set to run next year as an on-demand transit service, and will give participants more details about a wayfinding project along the Diagonal Highway corridor.