The 64th Avenue Bridge between Pecos Street and Federal Boulevard  in north Denver opened to traffic on Jan. 20. The new bridge replaces a portion of the existing 64th Avenue roadway and a street-level railroad crossing with a grade-separated crossing. It is the only roadway bridge along the Northwest Line.

Freight trains and the Regional Transportation District’s future B Line will run underneath it. The first 6.2-mile segment of the B Line will stretch from Union Station in Denver to near 71st Avenue and Lowell Boulevard in Westminster.

The commuter rail line is scheduled to open this summer. Meanwhile, segments of the Little Dry Creek and Clear Creek trails have been restored and are open for pedestrians and bicyclists.

RTD says the new bridge offers several benefits:

• The grade-separated roadway allows traffic to flow without stopping at the rail crossing.
• Pedestrian safety should improve, with new curb gutters and a 10-ft sidewalk and dedicated bicycle lane added to the south side of the road.
• Trains will be quieter since they are no longer required to blow their horns at the 64th Avenue road crossing. Train engineers will sound horns only during an emergency or if workers are in the roadway.

The bridge is a key part of the commuter rail construction of the B Line to Westminster and part of the RTD FasTracks Eagle P3 program.

“The 64th Avenue bridge is the only roadway bridge that the project is building along the G Line to Arvada/Wheat Ridge and the B Line to south Westminster, which eliminates a railroad crossing and improves safety for both the traveling public and RTD and freight train operations,” said Greg Straight, project director for the RTD B Line.