Maroon Creek Bridge

Historic Maroon Creek Bridge
Bridge from west portal, 2010
Coordinates	39°12′4″N 106°50′57″W / 39.20111°N 106.84917°W / 39.20111; -106.84917
Carries	Pedestrians
Crosses	Maroon Creek
Locale	Aspen, CO, USA
Characteristics
Design	trestle
Material	Concrete, steel, stone
Total length	651 ft (198 m)
Width	40 ft (12 m)[1]
Height	90 ft (27 m)
Longest span	600 ft (180 m)
No. of spans	20[1]
History
Designer	George S. Morison[2]
Constructed by	Colorado Midland Railroad
Construction start	1887
Construction end	1888
Opened	1888
Closed	2008
Location

New Maroon Creek Bridge
Coordinates	39°12′5″N 106°50′57″W / 39.20139°N 106.84917°W / 39.20139; -106.84917 (New Maroon Creek Bridge)
Carries	SH 82
Crosses	Maroon Creek
Locale	Aspen, CO, USA
Maintained by	Colorado Department of Transportation
ID number	H-09-U
Characteristics
Design	Box girder
Total length	approx 610 ft (190 m)
Width	73
Height	approx 90 ft (27 m)
Longest span	approx 270 ft (82 m)[3]
No. of spans	3
History
Designer	Parsons Transportation Group[3]
Engineering design by	McNary Bergeron & Associates[3]
Constructed by	BTE Concrete/Atkinson Construction JV[3]
Construction start	2005
Construction end	2008
Opened	2008
Statistics
Daily traffic	22,300 cars daily
Location

The original Maroon Creek Bridge is a steel trestle along State Highway 82 at the western boundary of Aspen, Colorado, United States. It was designed by George S. Morison in 1888 for the Colorado Midland Railroad, one of the last viaducts in Colorado built for a standard gauge mountain railroad in the 19th century.^[4] Of the five steel bridges the Midland built, it is the only one still extant.^[1] Due to the later removal of most track and the rail depots, the bridge is the most visible remnant of rail service to Aspen. In 1985 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with other highway bridges in the state, including the Sheely Bridge, also in Aspen.^[5]

When it was built, the Midland was ahead in its race with the Denver and Rio Grande to make the first rail connection to Aspen, then a booming silver mining center. The Midland had followed the Roaring Fork Valley up from its main line at Glenwood Springs, but was stalled at Maroon Creek by a delay in the bridge steel. The Rio Grande was thus able to make up the difference and bring the first train to Aspen, with the Midland following a few months later.

Aspen's boom years ended a few years later, and by the 1920s the bridge was abandoned.^[6] It was soon expanded and converted to use as a road bridge.^[7] It served as the main entrance to Aspen for many visitors as the city's economy rebounded when the Aspen Mountain ski resort was developed after World War II. As growth spilled over to Aspen's west, it became a traffic choke point for the region.

It remained in use until longstanding plans for a newer, wider bridge came to fruition in 2008. At that time the original bridge was the oldest one still in use on Colorado's state highways.^[8] The award-winning new bridge was designed to be aesthetically similar to its predecessor, which remains in service as a foot bridge. It may be used for a light rail line to further alleviate traffic problems in the valley.