Historic Bridges of Colorado

STATEWIDE

As a state with many distinguishing geophysical characteristics, including mountains and plains and rivers and streams, Colorado by necessity has many historic bridges that reflect its diverse regions and cultural heritage. But until recently, there has never been a strong bridge preservation ethic in the state. CPI, in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), has embarked on a partnership to rectify this area of historic preservation that has gone largely unnoticed by the general public. The nomination for Colorado’s Most Endangered Places identified forty-six (46) on-system high priority bridges representing different bridge types and locations across the state. Of these, CDOT is willing to commit to preserving in place as many as 20 priority bridges. These bridges still carry vehicular traffic on state highways, and still function in that capacity.

The bridges under consideration for preservation range in age from 1888 to 1973 and span the full breadth of Colorado’s bridge development, which evolved from early timber structures and steel bridges to the use of more functional and standardized designs using pre-stressed concrete in the post-World War II era. Some are considered significant in the context of roadways they carry or the waterways they span, while others are significant in relationship to the City Beautiful era or the federal work relief programs that originated from the Great Depression. Most are considered significant in the areas of Transportation and Engineering.

“IN ORDER TO SAVE HISTORIC BRIDGES, WE MUST ENGAGE WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF BRIDGES, APPRECIATION FOR THE ENGINEERING OF THESE STRUCTURES, AND SUPPORT FOR THE HISTORY THESE STRUCTURES PLAYED IN THEIR COMMUNITY”

- Rebecca Goodwin EPP Nomination Reviewer

This partnership is a unique opportunity for CPI to partner with CDOT in building awareness and advocacy for a resource type that has a local and statewide presence, but also a national context for bridge preservation. Listing these bridges will assist CDOT in developing partnerships with local communities and other organizations for funding and support for bridge rehabilitation efforts. Finally, the listing of Historic Bridges of Colorado on Colorado’s Most Endangered Places will help to make connections between bridges and important events in Colorado’s history that can be conveyed by local communities in their heritage tourism efforts. This developing partnership will build on CPI’s commitment to building a future with historic places, by bridging the gap between demolition and preservation of Colorado’s historic bridges to ensure that future generations can enjoy them, too.