New pedestrian bridge in Palmer Lake looks to provide better access to the lake
PALMER LAKE, Colo. (KRDO) -- A big addition is coming to Palmer Lake. Tuesday morning, crews put in a pedestrian bridge over the train tracks off of 105. The addition of the bridge will create better access to both the park and the lake.
The nearly $750,000 project is one of the biggest the small town of Palmer Lake has ever seen.
Project manager Eric Petrie said, “We are setting a prefabricated bridge, going to be putting a new trail and give people some more access over the railroad tracks, a little more protection. Today we are setting two spans as you can see behind me. Right now we are setting a smaller one and we will set it on the peer, bolt it down and move over to the big one.”
And it’s not just the bridge. Once in place, they'll begin work on the new connecting trail.
“Still have some work to do, poor out the deck, lay some sidewalk, do some earthwork so today will be a big milestone but we still have a couple of weeks worth of work," said Petrie.
So where did the money come from to complete a project this big?
“The funding came from Awake the Lake, which is a volunteer organization," he said. "Most of this was donated a lot through the townspeople, and Sema themselves donated a portion. It’s just a big community effort.
Petrie says this project couldn’t have been completed without the community’s support. During today’s installation, members of the community were on hand to watch. The people we spoke with say the key here is safety.
“[It's] kind of hard with the railroad and getting across the tracks if you wanted to walk across the lake," said Rich Simpson. "You had to walk all the way to the area down there if you wanted to cross the tracks. So this will make it easier.”
And the Awake the Lake team are still taking donations. Currently, they're holding a fundraiser where you can purchase a locomotive or a train car to sit on the bridge.
As long as the weather cooperates, they expect the project to be completely finished in a few weeks.
