Published: Jan. 10, 2019

Two new campus pedestrian bridges spanning Boulder Creek will soon be open for use, including the raised bridge and pathway that improves ADA access between Main Campus and areas north of the creek.

The new Main Campus pedestrian bridge

The new Main Campus pedestrian bridge

The new East Campus pedestrian bridge

The new East Campus pedestrian bridge

The bridge and pathway on Main Campus begins just north of Folsom Field and leads to the west end of Parking Lot 169. That bridge is slated to open by the end of day Friday, Jan. 11. Once the new bridge opens, the 21st Street pedestrian bridge spanning Boulder Creek will be closed for demolition. Signs will be in place directing pedestrians to the new route.

The new bridge, which will be a dismount zone for bikes, skateboards and scooters, replaces both the 21st Street bridge and the old stadium bridge. It marks the first phase of improvements for pedestrian access between Main Campus and areas north of the creek. Slated to begin later this year is construction of a new 19th Street pedestrian bridge and path that will replace the bridge destroyed by the 2013 flood.

Both new bridges will provide the first ADA-compliant connectivity between Main Campus and areas north of the creek in this part of campus. Their construction and removal of the old bridges will also improve flood mitigation along that section of the creek.

On East Campus, meanwhile, a new bridge connecting the Research Park to the Marine Street area opened to pedestrians today. The bridge leads from the south end of Parking Lot 560 near the Administrative and Research Center (ARCE) to the Boulder Creek Path on the north side of Prentup Field.

For both bridges opening, construction will continue around the sites in coming weeks. For the Main Campus bridge, in addition to demolishing the 21st Street Bridge, crews will be repaving portions of the Boulder Creek path and wrapping up reconfiguration of Lot 169. For the East Campus bridge, a permanent handrail on the path leading to the bridge on the north side of the creek is still to be installed. The landscaping portion of the work for both bridges will be completed in the spring.

Continued updates on the bridge projects can be found on the campus Cone Zone webpage.