Old Colorado & Southern Railway Bridge in Denver

In 2001 construction began on Denver's "T-Rex" project (TRansportation EXpansion).  This involved widening I-25 and adding light-rail service along the corridor through the south metro area.  It was a great investment benefitting Denver commuters, but one unfortunate casualty was the old Colorado and Southern Railway bridge over I-25 (and unmarked US 87), just north of Evans Avenue.  The rail line had not been used for years, but its bridge was a cool landmark that provided a little extra character in south Denver.

Here is a modern view looking northwest along I-25 from the Evans Avenue overpass.  For reference, the office building behind the center of the bridge arch is on the west side of Colorado Boulevard:

Sanderson, Dec. 2016

Historically, the old C&S bridge was a prominent feature in that direction.  This photo was taken from nearly the same spot, several years earlier:

Sanderson, 2002

When I heard that the bridge was to be dismantled, I went and took most of the photos shown on this page.  Here is a close-up from the same perspective:

Sanderson, 2002

These next shots were looking the opposite direction, from the frontage road that runs along the east side of the freeway, between Evans and Colorado.  The cars at bottom were on southbound I-25:

Sanderson, 2002

Sanderson, 2002

That truck was on eastbound Evans; the other cars were southbound on the west frontage road (which is now just an offramp.  I like that old Cameron Motel sign, too.)

This shot was also taken from the east frontage road, looking mostly west across the old bridge, but also a bit north, in the middle of an otherwise cardinal street pattern:

Sanderson, 2002

Even though the tracks between there and Colorado Blvd have been gone for years, the old right-of-way is still evident from the property lines: note how both structures on the right have the same angle as the railroad.  (On the west side of I-25, that ROW is now used for the light-rail line.)

Here, we are looking the opposite direction, from the southbound off-ramp:

Sanderson, 2002

People who do not realize that a railroad historically cut through this part of Denver probably see all these odd, slightly-diagonal lot lines and wonder what was going on when this place was laid out.  Heading that direction back in the day, these vintage signs (now housed in the Colorado Railroad Museum) indicate where travelers could ultimately end up:

Sanderson, 2005

Sanderson, 2005

In about 2014, a pedestrian bridge over I-25 was installed in almost the same location as the historic railroad bridge (shown in the first photo on this page).  It would have been really cool if the old bridge could somehow have been repurposed for that function.

This map shows the historic routing of the Colorado and Southern Railway through the Denver area.