The three-year effort to build a pedestrian bridge over the
South Platte River at Dartmouth Avenue finally moved a giant step
closer to reality late last year as construction got under way.
Currently, crews are working on the span. A couple weeks ago,
contractors used gravel to raise the bed of the river above the
water level so the equipment could reach the locations where the
bridge support columns would go. This week, crews are working on
the bridge abutments on the banks of the river. Plans are to have
the bridge open to traffic by spring.
Dave Henderson, capital projects manager, said safety concerns
were a major reason the city continued to find funding to build the
bridge.
He said it has been a dangerous crossing for years because
cyclists on the Mary Carter Greenway bike path or pedestrians on
Dartmouth have had to use the narrow walkway on the Dartmouth auto
bridge to cross the river.
The new bridge will provide a separate span for pedestrians and
cyclists so crossing becomes safer.
A lack of funds has held up construction of the bridge. The city
first sought federal funding help to build the bridge in 2005. It
was approved but there wasn’t funding until 2007 when money was
provided to design the bridge. In late 2008, construction funding
was approved for about half the cost of the bridge. However, the
city successfully sought the remaining funds from other
sources.
The result was the South Platte Working Group included $50,000
for the project in its successful request for a $250,000 Great
Outdoors Colorado grant, the project received about $152,000 in the
form of an Arapahoe County Open Space grant and the city will cover
the remainder of the cost from the annual open space money
Englewood receives as its portion of the dollars collected through
the Arapahoe County Open Space Tax. It won’t be necessary to use
any city general fund dollars for the project.
The funding awards cleared the way for the Englewood City
Council to approve the contract for almost $786,000 late last year
so crews could construct the bridge.
