BRIEFLY
DENVER ISN’T EXACTLY KNOWN FOR its rushing rivers or bodies of water, but that hasn’t stopped us from building some beautiful bridges in this city.
Platte River Bridge On the cover: The Millennium Bridge Connecting Denver’s lower downtown (LoDo) with Riverfront Park and the Highlands beyond, The Millennium Bridge is the world’s first cable-stayed bridge using post-tensioned structural construction. It’s 200-foot white tapered steel mast can be seen rising above the skyline all the way down the 16th Street Mall. Began in 1999, this iconic pedestrian bridge was completed in 2002. Just in time for the new millennium. Maybe that’s where the name comes from?
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THE DOCKET
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The Platte River Bridge is the second of three bridges that form a pedestrian and bicycle gateway between the Highland neighborhood and downtown Denver. This area had been an industrial and railroad center from Denver’s earliest days, but by the 1980s was largely disused. Now the area is a lush and manicured gathering spot thanks in large part to these three bridges.
Highland Arch Bridge
19th Street Bridge
Built by Hamon Infrastructure and completed in 2006, the Highland Arch Bridge is a 323-foot-long single span pedestrian bridge that crosses over I-25 and also connects downtown Denver with the Highlands. The roll of the bridge’s arch and 12 diagonal cables resembles a ship’s sail or a dragon’s back.
Built in 1888 to replace an earlier wooden bridge, the 19th Street Bridge carried automobile traffic until 1986. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the oldest wrought iron bridge in Colorado. Since 2011 it has been the site of the Gala on the Bridge, an event that benefits The Greenway Foundation and their mission to revitalize the Platte River.
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