The new 18th Street pedestrian bridge opened this weekend! The bridge, officially known now as the Union Gateway Bridge (although I suspect everyone will still call it the 18th Street Pedestrian Bridge), connects the Riverfront Park and Union Station districts in the Central Platte Valley. The bridge crosses over the Consolidated Main Line (CML) freight tracks and, in a few months, it will also span the tail tracks for the relocated light rail station that will be built a block away at 17th Street and the CML. Let’s take a trip across the bridge, starting from the Union Station side.

A view of the bridge with the Glass House and the Manhattan in the background, and the copper cladding on the elevator cores:

2010-03-08_bridge1 2010-03-08_bridge2

The new streetscape along the northeast side of 18th Street, and an overview of site prep work for the big Union Station project:

2010-03-08_bridge3 2010-03-08_bridge4

Looking back at Downtown, and a look down at where the plaza at the base of the bridge will connect to the northern end of the new light rail platform:

2010-03-08_bridge6 2010-03-08_bridge5

More Union Station site prep work, and the bridge from the Riverfront Park side:

2010-03-08_bridge7 2010-03-08_bridge8

Click here for a few more details about the bridge from a recent Denver Business Journal article.