State leaders honor Magnus White, celebrate grant for Diagonal Highway improvements

Community members and elected officials gathered on Thursday to celebrate safety improvements coming to Diagonal Highway while reflecting on the tragedies that have occurred on the highway over the years.

One of the most recent deaths on Colo. 119 between Boulder and Longmont was Magnus White, a Boulder resident and athlete with USA Cycling. In July, the 17-year-old was struck by a driver while biking southbound on the highway.

On Thursday, Michael White spoke about his son’s legacy to partners of the safety project in Niwot’s Whistle Stop Park. He shared that Magnus White was about to start his senior year of high school and listed the many countries he competed in over the years.

“And yet, he was killed by a driver in his hometown of Boulder,” White said. “Killed on a popular designated bike route on a road he’s ridden dozens and dozens of times. Killed just 15 minutes from home.”

White, surrounded by photos of his son, said that while he’s glad the safety project is starting now, he wished it could be completed faster than the estimated 13-year timeframe.

“We must, we have to speed up this process … so no other family will have to experience the toll and utter devastation we have faced and will live with the rest of our lives,” White said.

With Colo. 119 in view from the park, partners of the project discussed the plan to build a commuter bikeway separate from the road, add new signage for pedestrian crossings and increase public transit options. The project is funded by a $25 million federal grant secured in June.

The major infrastructure work will begin in the spring, but the Colorado Department of Transportation will start installing rumble strips on the outside shoulder of the highway later this month. CDOT Regional Director Heather Paddock said the department worked closely with the local biking community to place the strips in optimal locations for cyclists.

“CDOT felt it was very necessary to act quickly and improve the safety along the corridor,” Paddock said. “CDOT and our community partners are always seeking a pathway to eliminating death on our roadways.”

Several local and state leaders expressed their condolences to the White family, including Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. Polis said the project’s improvements to road safety will “reduce the likelihood” of other locals having to suffer the loss of a family member.

“The Diagonal is an incredibly important artery for Boulder County,” Polis said. “… Even as we mourn the tragedies that occurred here in the years past, including the most recent, we know the path ahead will be safer for everybody.”

Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., talked about the congressional effort to make the project a reality, highlighting the teamwork across party lines that produced the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“It’s really exciting that we get to see that collaborative effort in Washington, which as you know is not all that common,” Hickenlooper said. “It’s good to see (that) put to work here in a place where it is so needed and such a high priority.”

Boulder County Commissioner Claire Levy thanked Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Lafayette, for his support of the grant and emphasized the project’s goal to slash carbon emissions. More important than that, she said, is the project’s safety concerns, pointing to the nine people that have died along the Diagonal Highway since 2020.

“That number is not just a statistic,” Levy said. “It represents people that we have lost in our community, and  the emotional pain and loss by their family and friends.”

Faith Winter, chair of the Transportation and Energy committee in the Colorado Senate, said she was almost killed on a bicycle three weeks ago and spent days in the hospital as a result of the crash. She led a moment of silence for Magnus White and all the lives lost along the corridor, then expressed her support for the project.

“We’re at the point in history where we have two types of politics — we have politics of fear and scarcity, and we have politics of hope and optimism,” Winter said. “This is an example of hope and optimism that we’ve done together.”