Plaza Bridge

*2003*		Colorado Construction Magazine
*award:*		Silver Hard Hat
*category:*		Outstanding Heavy/Highway Project
*project:*		Profile
*location:*		Golden, Colorado - The Washington Avenue Bridge is the new centerpiece of downtown Golden. Constructed at the entrance of the city’s 7.9 square miles of city streets, the $3.3 million bridge replaces the existing structure with a new precast concrete bridge and a cable-stayed, structural steel pedestrian bridge.

		The new bridge is 65 feet higher than the original span to accommodate the anticipated 100-year flood volume. The original abutments were replaced and two piers added to the structure. Six lines of precast concrete girders were installed in two phases.

		During the third phase of construction, EKS constructed the pedestrian bridge. The bridge has four, 30-foot latticed towers with ten wire rope cables extending from each. The cables support the load of the steel superstructure and the concrete deck. Two cables each connect to the northeast and northwest towers and the southeast and southwest towers.

		During construction, pedestrians had to have access across the bridge. EKS successfully accommodated this by staging the construction sequence in stages.

		The close-knit community of Golden was also heavily involved in the project. The project team had visitors from the community come by daily to check on the progress of the bridge. To keep the public safe, EKS set up a small observation deck for people to watch from. EKS also worked with the Golden Historical Society, and donated pieces of the old bridge, found while excavating, for preservation.

		EKS completed nearly 1,200 hours of work on the project injury and incident free.