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Bridge at Wabash- History and Discussions
- In the 1930’s there was a bridge at the location, but the bridge burned down.
- In the 1990’s Arapahoe County began to take steps to rebuild the bridge.
- Denver opposed the bridge and took ownership of key land in 2003 to prevent one being built by Arapahoe County.
- Southeast Denver Community Meeting, sponsored by Council District 4, in October 2004. Many community members in attendance express opposition to bridge.
- Arapahoe County Commissioner considers condemnation of Denver land
- Concerns are raised in 2007 about the impact on nearby school, Denver Campus for Jewish Education, are resolved with proposal to put road around the campus of the school.
- Arapahoe County expresses interest in bridge again in early 2007 for safety response and neighborhood access reasons.
- Arapahoe County and Denver talk about re-examining issues relating to a bridge.
- February 26th, 2008- Southeast Denver Community Meeting, sponsored by Council District 4, Mayor's Office, & Public Works.
- On August 4th, 2008, Arapahoe County formally announced its intention to file an action in eminent domain to take the city-owned property.
- On September 11th, 2008, Denver proposed an alternative under which the city would agree to voluntarily transfer its land if the county would limit the bridge to emergency vehicle access only. Arapahoe County promptly rejected this proposal.
- On September 23rd, 2008, Arapahoe County sued Denver in Arapahoe County District Court to take the property necessary for the bridge, seeking "immediate possession" of the property, and offering to pay the appraised value of $63,550 as "just compensation" for the property.
- Effective December 18th, 2008, Denver and Arapahoe County stipulated to a settlement of the case and the court awarded the disputed property to Arapahoe County
The stipulated settlement by the parties was incorporated in the court's final order, and is binding on Denver and Arapahoe County from this point forward. The key elements of the final agreement between the parties are as follows:
- The bridge will be limited to one through-lane in each direction, with a center turn lane, and sidewalks on both sides of the structure.
- Arapahoe County
will be entirely responsible for reconstructing the grade-separated Cherry Creek trail beneath the bridge and constructing a new trailhead
Arapahoe County will contribute up to $625,000 toward the reconstruction of the Yale/Syracuse intersection in a joint project with the city, which will include a traffic signal.
Arapahoe County will also contribute up to $150,000 toward a joint traffic engineering study with Denver related to the Yale Avenue corridor between I-25 and Quebec.
Arapahoe County will entertain a possible re-alignment of the Wabash right-of-way north of Cherry Creek (i.e. adjacent to the HERZL/RMHA School),
At the time of the settlement, Councilwoman Peggy Lehmann obtained a commitment from Denver’s Public Works Department to invest in additional traffic improvements on the portions of Yale and Syracuse that lie within Denver's jurisdiction.
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Community Meeting 2/26/2008
To view the complete notes from the meeting, please click here.
On February 26th, a community meeting was held to discuss a proposed bridge which would connect Wabash Street to Yale, crossing the Cherry Creek. Councilwoman Peggy Lehmann welcomed approximately 150 attendees to the meeting. Kelly Brough, Mayor Hickenlooper’s Chief of Staff, provided an overview of the project including background & history of the bridge. Bill Vidal, Manager of Public Works, and Brian Mitchell, Public Works Traffic Engineer, reported traffic study results. Participants were given an opportunity to ask questions and provide comments to the City representatives. At the end of the evening participants were asked to complete a survey to help guide the city in their decisions regarding the bridge which has been proposed by Arapahoe County.
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