UPDATE: Adams Crossing bridge opening in WAAP at end of day Oct. 19 Oct. 5, 2018; updated Oct. 18Update: Based on just-released information from the WAAP project team, the bridge is now set to open late in the afternoon Friday, Oct. 19. This is three days earlier than the early-October prediction of Oct. 22, as described in the article below. The opening of the new Fountain Creek bridge - part of the Westside Avenue Action Plan (WAAP) project - has been put off again, this time until Oct. 22. The WAAP project team revealed this new date Oct. 4, in response to a Westside Pioneer request after the previously predicted end-of-September date was not met. The latter estimate had been announced at the WAAP “Coffee with the Contractor” event in late August. That in itself was an update of previous
“The sequencing of work and traffic to allow for the final elements of the bridge to be completed were delayed and this must be completed to provide access to the bridge,” the Oct. 4 project-team statement reads. “This includes work adjacent to it on both Colorado Avenue and Columbia Road. There were concerns of nearby property owners which took time to address and integrate into the construction. Crews are currently placing the approach slabs with high, early-strength concrete [and waterproofing membrane], and these need cure time to allow equipment to access the bridge. The project is looking to have the bridge open on Oct. 22 with no further delays.” WAAP is a multi-jurisdiction, roughly $40 million project that is rebuilding about 1˝ miles of Colorado/Manitou Avenue west of 31st Street, including utilities being replaced underground and storm drains being installed for the first time. The bridge replacement work started in September 2017. When the new bridge opens, it will be a major milestone for contractor Wildcat Construction. The old bridge was built in 1934. Part of it was demolished in 2017. The remainder is still being used to carry traffic. It will be torn down after the new bridge opens. When completed, the new bridge - named after the old Adams Crossing area of the Westside - will not offer four lanes, as in the past. There will be two lanes with a center lane, plus (as new amenities) bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides. This road alignment will also exist along the entire project segment, based on plans. Currently, the traffic over the old bridge is also two lanes, but because of the adjacent construction, flaggers often limit traffic to one lane at a time. As for WAAP as a whole, part of the construction (such as the bridge) is to be completed this year, with all elements in place by late spring 2019.
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