Officials from the city of Northglenn ceremoniously sliced a construction fence on Dec. 10 in honor of completing the first phase of four vital drainage improvement projects.
More than five years of planning and development led to the Grange Hall Creek Drainage Improvement and Pedestrian Underpass Project in which a new walkway was carved under Washington Street right next to the Grange Hall Creek to relieve flooding in the area between Garland Drive and 105th Way.
“The work done here removes the impediments from free flow of the Grange Hall Creek,” said John Pick, Northglenn city manager. “We actually got a chance to see how this worked back in September with all the rain — it went very well.”
Construction began last December and cost just less than $3 million. For the project, land that was level with the street was dug down 6 feet, and the city’s first underpass tunnel was installed.
Trees and park amenities will be added to Grant Park on the west side of Washington Street next spring. Those improvements are included in the final cost.
“Over the last five years, I’ve worked with the urban drainage and flood control district to identify solutions to the city’s drainage concerns all along Grange Hall Creek, which blows all the way through Northglenn,” said Pam Acre, the city’s stormwater coordinator.
“That resulted in a master plan for improvements from Grant Street all the way past Irma Drive.”
The next phases include similar water drainage projects at Larson and Marion streets and at Irma Street Crossing. Acre hopes to begin work on the phase two in three years. The remaining projects are not underpasses, however.
Grange Creek got an underpass incidentally when the plans for water rerouting included an underground area that just happened to be the perfect for travelling pedestrians.
“I said, ‘you know, that’s almost big enough for a person to walk through,’ and it turned into part of the project,” Acre said.
She said the underpass connection was direly needed in the area.
“Currently, our Greenway Trail ended on both sides of Washington and there wasn’t an easy, safe way for pedestrians to get across the street other than going all the way down to 104th or up to Garland to cross at the light, and very little people would do that,” Acre said. “They would just take their chances across the street.”
Adams County Open Space advisory board awarded more than $500,000 in grant money to implement an underpass and park for the project. The rest of the money was funded jointly by the City of Northglenn and the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District.
The underpass ceremony also doubled as an art installation dedication.
Colorado artist Colette Pitcher’s bronze piece “Bee My Honey” is a 6-foot-high sculpture of a bear reaching for a beehive hanging on a tree. It was chosen through the Northglenn Art on Parade and People’s Choice programs ran by the Northglenn arts and humanities foundation.
Michael Stricker, cultural programs director of the city’s arts and humanities foundation, said it was the selected out of 48 entries from 19 states.
Acre said although she can’t guarentee an underpass at every drainage project, there will likely be a piece of public art selected for each area in the coming years.
