DID YOU KNOW
Colorado bridges
Colorado has fewer and shorter bridges than most states because of its high elevation and dry climate. Even though there are comparatively few bridges in the state, there are dozens listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Royal Gorge Bridge, the highest suspension bridge in the U.S., was constructed in 1929. It rises 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River.
In 1886 the Fifth Street bridge in Grand Junction, also called the Grand Junction Bridge, was completed, becoming the first bridge paid for by state funds. It is 740 feet across the Colorado River.
Rainbow Arch Bridge, also known as Fort Morgan Bridge or the bridge over the South Platte River, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 because of its architecture and engineering.
The Burro Canyon three-arch bridge along Colorado 12 near Madrid in Las Animas County is an example of a bridge built by the Works Progress Administration during the Depression. About 30 were built during the program.
The Colorado Department of Transportation has a historic bridge program that has resulted in a number of preservations. Since 1983, the department has conducted several historic bridge inventories that have resulted in the evaluation of the state’s historic bridges. The next statewide historic bridge inventory will be completed in 2008.
CDOT also sponsors an Adopt-a-Bridge program in conjunction with other historical organizations.
Sources: “The Colorado Almanac,” by Thomas J. Noel; Colorado State Archives (colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/arcfirst.html); Colorado Department of Transportation; National Register of Historic Places; Colorado Department of Transportation (www.dot.state.co.us/environmental/CulturalResources/ArchaeologyTechnical.asp)
REGIONAL NOTES
LITTLETON
Mayor to head cities committee
Mayor James Taylor has been appointed chairman of the Congress of Cities Program Committee of the National League of Cities. Taylor will help determine what major topics will be addressed at the group’s annual conference in November.
The National League of Cities is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities and towns.
