113-year-old Denver bridge demolished, to be rebuilt for improved safety

One of Colorado's oldest bridges will be getting demolished and then rebuilt soon. The Alameda Avenue bridge over the South Platte River is 113 years old. 

The Colorado Department of Transportation and Ames Construction are moving the demolition equipment. The main issue is a guardrail hanging off the side of the bridge on the south side. The north side was renovated in April 2023. 

Now, it's time to fix the south side so new lanes can be created for all types of vehicles. The lanes will include pedestrian access over the bridge. The hope is to improve the I-25 south Santa Fe Drive interchange and get rid of South Platte River Drive between Alameda and Cedar. 

Traffic will also be diverted to South Lipan Street which is north of Alameda. Along with this, the South Platte River Trail will include a 12-foot concrete trail and a four foot finely crushed stone trail. Crews will also install a water quality long and improve sidewalks on both sides of Alameda. 

Construction crews tell CBS News Colorado Traffic Reporter Brian Sherrod the biggest issue is constantly having to move those who are experiencing homelessness out of the site area.  

"We do deal with that on a regular daily basis actually," Zach Miller, Engineer with CDOT said. "On the weekends, they will be on our site and we have to kindly move them along and get them out of here. Obviously, it's not a safe place to be if you are not working on the project and the dangers. They like to be along the river, too."

The actual demolition of the bridge will be over the next three weeks. Contractors tell CBS News Colorado they will cut the bridge here deck and turn the deck into more manageable pieces for the demolition, sometime next week. 

Additional Information from the Colorado Department of Transportation: 

Originally built in 1911, and widened in 1966, the Alameda Avenue bridge over the South Platte River is the oldest bridge on the state highway system.  The project will replace the bridge and provide multi-modal improvements for the benefit of drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.  Project features include: 

• Replacing the Alameda Avenue bridge over the South Platte River with a new structure - this will improve multi-modal travel, safety and flood capacities
• Modifying Alameda intersections to improve access and build a multi-modal corridor - this work includes reconfiguring the I-25 South Santa Fe Drive interchange, eliminating South Platte River Drive from Alameda to Cedar, and diverting traffic to the widened South Lipan Street north of West Alameda Avenue
• Reconstructing the South Platte River Trail - there will be improvements in sight distance, increased 12-foot concrete trail, a four-foot finely crushed stone trail, and 3-foot vegetated shoulders for an overall trail width of 22 feet
• Constructing an on-street two-way cycle track on the north side of Alameda between South Lipan and South Kalamath streets with a connection to the South Platte River Trail
• Installing a water quality pond and associated South Platte River outfall
• Improving sidewalks on both sides of Alameda