Bijou bridge coming to life after 9 months of being closed

A new, wider, prettier Bijou Street bridge will be reopened for commuter traffic Monday morning.

The long-awaited reopening comes nine months after the old bridge was closed and demolished as part of the Interstate 25 COSMIX project.

The actual reopening of the bridge and its on- and offramps will occur with no fanfare, when crews remove barriers late Sunday night or early Monday morning.

The public relations stuff happens later, starting at 10:30 a.m. at Monument Valley Park at the foot of the bridge, where a band will play, downtown business owners will rejoice and dignitaries will spout platitudes.

During those speeches, there may or may not be mention that the bridge isn’t fully opened. That won’t happen until Oct. 31.

The COSMIX contractor, Rockrimmon Constructors, has met its “contractual obligation” by opening the bridge Oct. 1, said spokesman Kyle Troxel. But it will take several weeks to put the final touches on the bridge.

Until then, there will be two lanes running east and one west for the morning commute. Sometime in the afternoon, probably about 2 p.m., barrels will be moved and there will be two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane.

Troxel said weather problems this summer, city restrictions on when crews could work and the need to put workers on other parts of the COSMIX project prevented Rockrimmon from completing all the work on the bridge by Monday.

To mark the reopening of the bridge, all on-street metered parking downtown and in Old Colorado City will be free from Monday through Saturday.

READERS WEIGH IN

Readers have offered some comments on recent Getting There columns. Below is a sampling.

- On the possibility of a mandatory motorcycle helmet law in Colorado, Chris Capshaw, safety officer for the Springs chapter of the Harley Owners Group, said his opinion is that wearing a helmet increases the chances of surviving a crash. “Why do people choose not to? My belief is that it simply comes down to ‘image.’ People feel they don’t look like a ‘real biker’ if they wear a helmet. . . .”

- On the decision by the city to fuel some of its fleet with E85, a blend of ethanol and gas, which burns cleaner than gas but delivers 10 percent to 30 percent less fuel mileage, geologist Dick Standaert wrote: “Did the City really lock in a long term contract for E85 at $2.21 a gallon vs. $1.96 for unleaded? I can’t imagine any city official in any capacity with any sense of a responsibility that should or would accept, approve or sign a contract for any reason for E85 at a price greater than they can obtain unleaded fuel. To pay more for a less efficient fuel is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard of.”

- On the possibility of more roundabouts in Colorado Springs, Alice Hawes wrote: “The roundabout is one of the most insane, ridiculous inventions that the traffic engineers have come up with!!! Boston, MA, and many East Coast cities took them out in the ’70s for good reason. The majority of drivers cannot handle the roundabout. . . .”

Tell me your commuter tales: 636-0197 or bill.mckeown@gazette.com.