Century-old 25th Street bridge in west Colorado Springs closes for a month of repairs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The city has closed a bridge over Fountain Creek at the intersection of 25th Street and Naegele Road, on the southwest side of Old Colorado City.

According to city officials, the bridge was built 100 years ago; it parallels Cimarron Street (US 24) and also is part of the route for the popular Midland Trail.

"It has just deteriorated," said Gayle Sturdivant, the city's deputy public works director. "It was older construction, as you can imagine. We are doing a rehabilitation project where we're going to strengthen it so we can get at least 20 more years of life on that bridge. We want to be able to keep it in that current location that helps all those businesses around that area."

The bridge closed on Monday and now has "Road Closed" signs at each end, and heavy equipment nearby.

Sturdivant explained that the bridge isn't heavily-traveled by vehicles but is commonly used by cyclists and pedestrians.

The four-week closure ensures that repairs will be finished well before the start of the annual Territory Days street festival on Memorial Day weekend.

Sturdivant said that the city won't rebuild the bridge when it reaches the end of its use in around 20 years.

"(The Colorado Department of Transportation) has plans to widen Highway 24 and make some improvements at the 25th Street area," she said. "So, the bridge would ultimately go away when that configuration happens. We're just trying to buy time to let it come through there and save the many folks in the area."

Owen Roberts regularly rides his bike on the Midland Trail near the bridge; with work still in its beginning stages, he was able to get through on Wednesday.

"There's not a lot of traffic through here but it sure is a nice back road," he said. "I don't think the closure is really going to affect me. But I'm glad they're repairing the bridge."

Bryan Clymens owns a motorcycle repair shop on the north end of the closure.

"It's a little bit of an impact," he said. "We'll see how it goes. Thank God it's during the winter, so it's a slower season."

The current repair work also continues the city's efforts to reduce its number of bridges in poor condition; the 25th Street bridge, along with the replacement of four bridges on South Circle Drive, will lower the number of poor bridges from 12 to 7.

Repairing the bridge will cost $102,000.