The rehabilitation of one of the oldest bridges in Colorado Springs is currently in the design phase, with actual work expected to begin early next year.
The Cache La Poudre/Mesa Road Bridge was originally built in the aftermath of a 1935 flood that destroyed the previous footbridge. Work on the new bridge, to be funded as a New Deal project, began almost immediately just months later.
Because it was more specifically a Works Progress Administration effort, it was designed in the Art Deco style that graced many of the agency’s infrastructure projects nationally.
Completed and opened for traffic in the spring of 1936, the two-lane structure spanning Monument Creek has long served as a primary throughway within the borders of the city’s Monument Valley Park, used by vehicles, bike-riders, and walkers.
Now the City of Colorado Springs is engaged in a process to update the nearly 90-year-old structure. Because the bridge has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, that process is centered on rehabilitating, not replacing, the 232-foot-long structure.
To that end, the City has made certain to announce that the original rock walls built by the WPA under the bridge “will not be impacted by the project.”
According to plans, the rehabilitation work will include building a deck replacement, general roadway and drainage improvements, and new lighting.
The project, to be funded via the regional Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority in conjunction with the City of Colorado Springs, will also include a slight widening of the bridge’s sidewalks and new signage.
The design process for the project is expected to come to an end sometime this fall. City officials have said they believe a completely rehabilitated Cache La Poudre/Mesa Road Bridge will be open for traffic during the first quarter of 2027.
July 24, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of the City of Colorado Springs
