DenverInfill Blog

Today’s posting is about building streets and ripping out the passenger tunnel.  And there is a special treat at the end for history buffs.

First, the streets. The following photo shows progress over the past week and a half of the new section of 16th Street from the base of the Millennium Bridge to Wewatta Street and the mall shuttle turnaround at the new shuttle station. You can see gutters and curbs for the turnaround on the left and paving for 16th Street in the upper right quadrant of the photo. Chestnut Place will enter in the blank space between the two streets.

Now for the demolition. Looking closely at this photo, you can see the top of an excavator in the hole where much of the passenger tunnel existed a few days ago. Part of the tunnel itself is visible to the right of the excavator’s boom. The top of the ramp that led into the tunnel is clearly recognizable as a hole in the back of the station.

I try to find a historic train station whenever we travel. Last week’s trip yielded this one from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. President Abraham Lincoln arrived at this station the day before he delivered one of the greatest speeches in American history.

The battlefield is worth a visit as we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Over 170,000 Americans engaged in a bitter three-day battle that resulted in 51,000 casualties.

We traveled with friends, Frank and Eileen, from Portland, Maine.  Frank learned a few weeks before our trip that his great grandfather fought for the Confederates in the battle … he survived.

Streets are being built and rebuilt.  First, we’ll take a look at the new street in front of the mall shuttle station in the left photo below. For the past couple of weeks, crews have been busy with foundation work. Now, curbs and gutters are being constructed. Similarly, curbs and gutters are being poured for 16th Street that is being rebuilt between the Millennium Bridge and Wewatta Street. As you can see in the right photo below, the short section of 16th Street will be a little wider than it was before the project started to accommodate two mall shuttle lanes, two lanes for general traffic, and one or two bike lanes. The light rail tracks will be gone. The street will open for general traffic for only one block between Chestnut and Wewatta. That part of the street will be quite busy for a year or so when two or three blocks of Wewatta are shut down for construction of the second half of the bus terminal. It will remain open to traffic once Wewatta is reopened.  (So you can get the right perspective how on the two photos relate, be aware that I took both from the same spot on the Millennium Bridge.  I simply turned 90 degrees to my right for the second one.)

Here is an inside-the-fence photo of Chestnut Place under construction as it passes over the bus terminal.  As you can see from the manhole in the foreground, much of the foundation is yet to be built.

Today, I made several additions to last week’s “Weekly Photos” tab on our Denver Union Station page at JobSiteVistor.com for a total 49 for the week.  I also added 15 photos to this week’s “Weekly Photos” tab.

I will be out of town from May 9 through May 16. The flurry of postings this week has you up to date on the project. I will play catch-up again soon after I return.

Don’t forget the tour tomorrow starting at 10:00AM in front of the historic station.