As with any good public infrastructure, a bridge is meant to be taken for granted.

For about 218 major bridges carrying cars, trains and pedestrians from one place to another in Colorado Springs, most would say that users should not have to spare a thought for the engineering under their feet. A 2024 study put out by the Colorado Department of Transportation rated those bridges at least a 5 out of 9, putting them in the “fair” to “excellent” category of condition.

Unfortunately, Colorado Springs had a few in need of serious work — some of which are linchpins in major transportation arteries. According to the city, 13 bridges ended up with condition ratings 4 and under in the “poor” to “failed” categories. One of the worst of those was removed entirely in October with no immediate plans for replacement.

“There was no way to safely put traffic on it,” said Gayle Sturdivant, city engineer and deputy director of public works, of the North El Paso Street bridge that used to span East Platte Avenue.

Eastbound Circle Drive bridge in southeast Colorado Springs set to reopen

The bridge was hit by a semi-truck carrying a forklift in 2021, causing damage that shut the bridge down for three years. The decision to tear it down completely came after concerns about debris from the bridge falling into traffic below. Despite the bridge being part of the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority’s third round of taxpayer funded projects, Sturdivant said residents of the area would not see any plans for replacement until at least 2029.

Bridges are an expensive undertaking.

A few of the 13 bridges identified as deficient by the state have since been removed or are in the process of being replaced in a $40 million project to build new bridges on Circle Drive in southeast Colorado Springs. Two eastbound and two westbound bridges are slated for complete replacement, funded by PPRTA’s 1% sales tax. 

The new eastbound bridges opened to traffic earlier this month.

Of deficient bridges, Sturdivant said the city would “very shortly” be down to eight: Water Street over Camp Creek; 25th Street over Camp Creek; Cache Le Poudre Street over Monument Creek and Shooks Run; the railroad overpass over Fontanero Street; and Costilla, Bijou and Saint Vrain streets, each spanning Shooks Run. 

For most, the city is looking at rehabilitation over replacement. Scraping together money for full replacements can be cost prohibitive and lengthy. Sturdivant said the current timeline for securing funding was three to 12 years. Instead, the city uses new technology to patch older bridges.

Those measures typically look like resurfacing and the use of modern coatings to prevent water seeping into concrete and corrosion-eating metals. While expensive in their own right, Sturdivant said that rehabilitation projects are considered based on their return on investment.

For example, water-proofing a concrete box culvert might extend the lifespan of aging infrastructure by 20 years, Sturdivant said.

Multiple major Colorado Springs road projects reach project milestones

Many of the bridges in the city reaching their engineering lifespan were built in the 1980s and ’90s — periods when the city was experiencing growth into new areas and handling greater traffic loads. Now is also a period of growth, so some bridges not on the list for dire repairs or replacement are also getting a major upgrade. Some are being built for the first time.

Two big projects for the next few years will be on bridges along Marksheffel Road and Powers Boulevard. Both corridors have been marked for major upgrades under PPRTA 3.

Colorado Springs, with advanced funding from the Copper Ridge Metropolitan District ahead of PPRTA funding becoming available next year, is putting the finishing touches on the new Voyager Parkway Bridge, part of a 10-year project to extend the road. CDOT is also working on a $46 million diverging diamond interchange at Powers and Airport Road.

In December , the city reopened traffic across the Fillmore Street Bridge after eights months of repaving work. The bridge is still slated for replacement, however. Sturdivant said the project had applied for and received planning and evaluation grants through the federal Bridge Investment Program. The project is in the running for a nearly $50 million construction grant as well.

“I don’t know where we’re going to land on that,” she said.

Sturdivant said new bridges are being built with a 75- to 100-year lifespan, with the possibility of extending that time with maintenance and repairs.

‘A safe way to cross:’ First of new Circle Drive bridges set to open in Colorado Springs