Denverites plan to restore Delgany Bridge, want city to take ownership

Delgany Bridge.Photo byLower Downtown Neighborhood Association

A group of Denverites active in the Lower Downtown Neighborhood Association are rallying to save Delgany Bridge, an old railroad span at 14^th and Delgany that until October 2021 served as a pedestrian and bike bridge.

Built in 1891, the bridge needs repairs to be safely used, according to Brenda Roy, who addressed the City Council Sept. 30 during public comment period. She said the community intends to raise money for the repairs. She said nobody claims ownership of the bridge, which makes it difficult to rehabilitate. She said the Greenway Foundation has expressed interest in temporarily taking ownership so funds can be raised and repairs made. She said the goal would be to transfer ownership of the bridge to the city after that so it can be used for public purposes.

Roy said the bridge lines up with the Cherry Creek path entryways for bicyclists and pedestrians. She said closure of the bridge “has been a real problem for bicycle commuters.” She said the bridge connects lower downtown neighborhoods and serves as a way out of Ball Arena for bike and pedestrian traffic. She asked the council for its support in trying to rehabilitate and reopen the bridge.

Rebuilding bridge could cost $300,000 or $3 million

According to the Lower Downtown Neighborhood Association meeting minutes for Aug. 19, if the city’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure gets involved staffers will want to restore the bridge to vehicle traffic standards, which would cost about $3 million. Only $300,000 is needed to make the bridge safe for bicyclists and pedestrians, according to the minutes.

According to the Delgany Bridge fundraising page on the Greenway Foundation website, $11,310 out of a goal of $250,000 has been collected. According to the Library of Congress website, “The bridge is a single span, wrought and cast iron through Pratt truss and is one of the few remaining representatives of this once-common bridge type in Denver. It is technologically significant as a rare Colorado example of wrought and cast-iron construction.”