Denver says it would cost $3 million to fix Delgany St. bridge

DENVER — If the Delgany Street bridge were a house for sale, the realtor would have to get creative.

“It has great bones!!!”

“An opportunity for sweat equity.”

“A hidden gem waiting to be polished.”

But if the abandoned railroad bridge at the end of Delgany Street were on the market, the City of Denver wouldn’t be putting in an offer any time soon.

“It’s unsafe,” said Nancy Kuhn, spokeswoman for Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.  “Typically, as a regular practice, we don’t take on assets that are in poor condition and needing a lot of work.”

Denver commissioned an engineering study of the bridge and estimates it needs about $3 million in repairs to make it safe. 

“The deck needs to be replaced,” Kuhn said. “It’s quite worn, falling apart there on the deck.”

DOTI’s bridge budget is about $6.5 million so Kuhn said it’s unrealistic to include that cost to fix a bridge, especially with another about 400 feet away.

“We know, we don’t have $3 million identified to fix it,” she said. “And so, you know, we’re hoping that perhaps maybe with a future bond initiative, maybe voters would want to put that on the list.”

Neighbors, who have long lobbied to find someone to take over the bridge, don’t believe the city’s estimate.

“I am mystified by the possibility that this bridge would cost $3 million to fix,” said Andrea Kahn, who sits on the HOA board for a condo building adjacent to the bridge. “To come up with $3 million is their way of saying we just don’t want to fix your bridge. So it’s just going to sit here and deteriorate.”

She said the neighbors plan to lobby to Denver City Council and push for someone to pay to fix the bridge which is in a busy pedestrian area.

“I think everybody in the neighborhood is going to be very upset by this,” Kahn said. “It’s not just me because I live here. It’s the people who use the trail.”

More reporting by Steve Staeger:

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