By Jerry Orten and Laura Stondall
City Council member Chris Hinds hosted a meeting at the eastern side of the Delgany bridge on Thursday, March 28th. The meeting was attended by over 80 local residents who were very interested in reopening this bridge. The bridge over Cherry Creek at Delgany Street is in need of significant repairs in order to reopen it safely.
The bridge was closed due to broken and deteriorating wooden planks on the bridge. Planks added on top of the formal railway have failed. The failure was either because a city vehicle drove over the bridge and broke some planks, or the planks just deteriorated by weather over time. Apparently, one person was injured when their foot fell through a deteriorated plank which precipitated the closing of the bridge by the city.
A representative from The Greenway Foundation was in attendance and revealed that a structural assessment of the bridge was completed and determined the necessary repairs.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the DOTI – the city’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. DOTI representatives reviewed the cost estimates for repair in the amount of more than $3 million. Denver has a limited budget for bridge repairs, especially due to budget cuts. The City has many bridges in need of repairs. The DOTI spokespersons emphasized the City’s approach to bridge repair is based on equity and other factors. With many other bridges in the immediate area that are functioning, the Delgany bridge does not meet equity and other requirements of the city, in addition to the funding limitations of the City.
The DOTI representatives noted that building costs have increased and that many new codes would need to be adhered to if the bridge is repaired.
Fortunately, a local engineer who lives in a building nearby presented an engineering analysis on the bridge, concluding that limited improvements are needed to make the bridge usable. That study provided hope that if ownership could be determined then a bridge repair might be viable.
Ownership issues related to the bridge were examined. No entity claims ownership of the bridge. It was determined that an entity might be amenable to taking on the responsibility for the bridge. If an entity is found, ownership of the bridge might then be determined by either a condemnation or a quiet title lawsuit. The resulting situation would be that the bridge would go to the party that is interested in maintaining it. That entity could then install a safe pedestrian/bike decking across the bridge. Suggestions for possible entities to take on responsibility for the bridge are the Delgany Maintenance District, the Central Platte Valley Metropolitan District, or other local special districts. One of these special districts might be appropriate to take on responsibility to make improvements to allow for pedestrian, bicycle, and limited vehicle use of the bridge. The Delgany Maintenance District may be unauthorized to make this sort of repair and may not have a broad enough base of properties within it to appropriately fund a repair.
In conclusion, at this juncture, the emphasis is to seek an entity that would be willing to take on the ownership, and cost of maintenance and repair to make the bridge useable again.
If you’re interested in the Delgany Bridge repair, please contact the chair of the neighborhood association transportation committee (Tim Jordan) at tjordanden@gmail.com or contact the president of the neighborhood association (Jerry Orten) at president@lodona.org
Thank you!
