Article Contributed on: 3/19/2008 8:06:46 PM
This falls squarely in the "good news and bad news" department. On the one hand, CDOT finally began replacing the Washington Street bridge over Highway 58. The new bridge will be much more attractive and, more importantly, will make it much easier and safer for pedestrians and bikes to cross.
This should make walking or biking to downtown from North Golden (or visiting your friends north of Highway 58 if you happen to live in another part of town) much, much more pleasant. On the other hand, we are going to have to live with the disruption of the construction project for an estimated 18 months.
Because the bridge is owned by the Colorado Department of Transportation, they are paying for the bridge replacement. Golden is contributing the funding necessary to upgrade the bridge aesthetically and to incorporate pedestrian and bicycle improvements.
We held an open house in November 2006 asking for citizen input on several possible design options. City Council selected a bridge design based on the input received during that open house and at other forums.
One other note: the bridge is scheduled to be closed this evening (March 19) from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the demolition of the east portion of the bridge. You'll need to take an alternate route during those times.