FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2004
Contact: Josh Freed
(202) 225-4431

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded Denver a $4.6 million grant for the reconstruction of the Broadway Bridge.

The grant will fund the ongoing reconstruction of the 50-year-old Broadway Bridge and expansion from six to eight lanes. The bridge, which has substandard design and safety characteristics, was rated the worst in the state highway system. Rep. DeGette has worked on securing funding to complete this project over the course of the past three years. She helped Denver obtain $5 million in 2002 and $8 million in 2003 for the Broadway Bridge Project from the DOT.

“We often hear of the nation’s crumbling infrastructure. There are few better examples of this than the Broadway Bridge, which is literally falling apart,” said Rep. DeGette. “This grant is an important step toward alleviating traffic congestion and eliminating a potential safety hazard in Denver.”

In December of 2001, I-25 had to be shut down for 16 hours due to three girders breaking on the bridge. The southbound and northbound viaduct structures have structural sufficiency ratings of 6 and 23 respectively. The
Broadway Bridge reconstruction is an extension of the Southeast Corridor Multi-Modal Transit Project. This project, also known as T-REX, connects the region’s two largest employment centers with an improved interstate highway and light rail transit.

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