Peyton’s Green Bridge on Highway 24 between Falcon and Peyton will be replaced next year ñ taken apart and hauled away ñ according to the Colorado Department of Transportation plans. CDOT put the bridge up for the departmentís ìAdopt a Bridgeî program, but there were no takers.However, Peyton resident Desiree Schultz has taken up her own cause to keep the bridge in Peyton.On short notice in November, Schultz held a meeting at Peyton Elementary School, which drew 22 people who share her goal of saving the Green Bridge. The group decided the most cost-effective alternative would be moving the bridge to the Rock Island Trail, just a few yards north of its current location.On Nov. 15, Schultz and three other bridge supporters presented the idea to the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners and asked for their assistance.ìWeíre here on behalf of the people who live out on the eastern plains to request your help and intervention in trying to save our beloved and historic Green Bridge,î Schultz said.CDOT did not hold any public meetings in Peyton that would have informed the community about the demolition of the Green Bridge. But theyíve held those meetings in other areas. Shultz said in September CDOT held a public meeting about the replacement of a similar bridge in Dotsero, Colo.ìWeíre aware the hour is late for us,î she said. ìAs the people to whom the bridge matters most because it’s a part of our heritage, we wish that we had known sooner.îAccording to http://bridgehunter.com, the bridge was appraised as structurally deficient three years ago and received a sufficiency rating of 43.3 out of 100. The deck, superstructure and substructure were rated as poor.Commissioner Amy Lathen said CDOT has moved more quickly to replace the Green Bridge than expected. ìMaybe we can slow things down a bit and look at some options,î she said.Repairing the 77-year-old bridge is not an option ñ it’s too narrow and does not provide enough clearance to meet today’s standards, Schultz said.Could the bridge be left in place and Highway 24 re-routed around it?County engineer Andre Brackin said no.ìAny solution leaving the bridge in its current location would require the roadway to be realigned. That will drastically increase the cost of the project,î Brackin said.He said the most cost-effective way to save the bridge would be to take it apart and reassemble it elsewhere ñ at an estimated cost of more than $400,000.Brackin said it will cost $50,000 to $100,000 just to take the bridge apart, which has already been put out for a bid.Given enough time, the Peyton residents could form a nonprofit organization to raise the money needed to move the Green Bridge to the Rock Island Trail, Schultz said.Brackin said he would contact CDOT and the state historic preservation officer to see if there is any way they can help out or delay demolition.ìI think it’s a great bridge, and it would be sad to see it demolished,î said Commissioner Sallie Clark.The bridge, officially named the Black Squirrel Creek Bridge, was built in 1934 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Contrary to stories that prison labor was used to build the bridge, former Peyton resident, Helen Baber, has said her father and the fathers of many of her childhood friends worked to build the bridge, earning money that fed their families during the Great Depression.After speaking before the BOCC, Schultz urged everyone who cares about the bridge to contact Lathen (719-520-6412) and Rep. Marsha Looper (719-238-5600) and ask them to work with CDOT to postpone demolition.Editorís note: A meeting with CDOT and the Peyton save-the-bridge group is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 7. Check http://newfalconherald.com for details about time and location or date changes.
