WAAP: Bridge opens, but work goes on

WAAP: Bridge opens, but work goes on

Rebar was exposed, there was no stoplight yet, the roadway was narrower than it's going to be, the striping was temporary, and orange cones were everywhere.

It's hard to believe that for decades Ridge Road passed through what's been of late a major earthwork zone between Colorado (foreground) and Pikes Peak avenues. The intent, under the Westside Avenue Action Plan, is to create a "pedestrian plaza" where the street was, with completion expected in 2019.

Westside Pioneer photo

       But the Adams Crossing Bridge finally opened in late October.
       As one of the major milestones for the Westside Avenue Action Plan (WAAP), the new, 95-foot-long span over Fountain Creek just west of Columbia Road is now carrying one lane of Colorado Avenue traffic each way.
       “This will be a real help for traffic,” commented District 3 County Commissioner Stan VanderWerf when it opened. He was referring to more than a year of bottlenecks in that zone since bridge work started in September 2017.
       WAAP is far from over, with continued traffic impacts anticipated into 2019, mainly east of the new bridge.
       The $35 million-plus undertaking is drastically upgrading the public infrastructure along a roughly 1½-mile corridor of Manitou/Colorado Avenue west of 31st Street which had been mocked for years as “no man's land.” The improvements include a pedestrian plaza and stoplight at the avenue and Ridge Road, stormwater pipes and extensive utility upgrades.
       The overall project involves the county, Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs, with the county handling its management.
       The old bridge was built in 1934. For WAAP, its north half was demolished to make room for the new structure. During its construction, the old south half was carrying the avenue traffic. The future will see it demolished and the rest of the new bridge's width installed where part of the old one had been.
       According to plans, the new span - as well as all the WAAP roadway - eventually will have two through lanes, a center lane and, on both sides, bike lanes, curb-and-gutter and sidewalks.
       The deck rests on 20 concrete box girders that are supported by six reinforced concrete columns which, according to project engineers, go 16 to 24 feet into bedrock below the creek channel.
       A stoplight will be installed to control traffic at Colorado Avenue and Columbia Road, plans show. For now, both directions have stop signs.
       Columbia, which was closed for several weeks between Colorado and Pikes Peak avenues to allow utility work and road reconstruction, opened again at the end of September. Its southbound traffic now has a right- and left-turn lane approaching Colorado Avenue.
       According to Chris Jennings of Jacobs Engineering, which worked closely with project contractor Wildcat Construction on the bridge, its final widening and stoplight aspects will be accomplished in the coming months, with full operational capability being attained in 2019.
       The bridge had once been scheduled to open last May, but issues arose - which have led to delays in some other elements of the project (as well as increased costs) - related to weather, logistics and unexpected complications in undergrounding utilities and obtaining easements.

Westside Pioneer article