Getting from the Colorado State Capitol to Civic Center Park can feel a lot like playing Frogger, the old video game that has players dodging traffic across multiple lanes.
The two landmarks are divided by the major thoroughfares Broadway and Lincoln Street, with Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park in the middle. State officials have been talking about how to bridge that divide for pedestrians for many years.
Now, Colorado’s birthday may finally be the catalyst for a crossing.
Pedestrian bridges could cross Broadway and Lincoln
To celebrate 150 years of statehood and 250 years of the U.S. in 2026, Gov. Jared Polis and the Sesquisemiquincentennial Commission are proposing an elevated walkway in two phases. The first would leap over Lincoln, connecting the Capitol to the veterans memorial. The second would complete the link to Civic Center by bridging Broadway.
It’s unclear how much the project might cost, or where the money will come from. The supporters are planning a fundraising campaign, but it hasn’t launched yet.
A proposal describes the project as “a highly functional structure of public art that serves as a unique narrative canvas, weaving the state's rich heritage into a safe and vibrant pathway.”
An illustration of the Colorado 150 Pedestrian Walkway. 
A design of the pedestrian walkway connecting the state capitol complex with Civic Center Park.
A well-known designer is involved
The project’s planners haven’t produced detailed plans yet. Boosters are seeking community input and even family stories through an online survey. Local artists can compete to add their flourishes.
“It is a bridge that tells the story of Colorado's first 150 years and hopefully gets people excited about our second 150 years,” Gov. Polis told Colorado Matters.
Studio Gang leads the project team. The firm is fresh in Denver’s consciousness with the opening of the Populus Hotel, whose design took inspiration from aspen trees.
Each of the spans would cross at least four lanes of traffic. Together, they would allow pedestrians to walk about 500 yards from the Denver City and County Building to the Capitol without waiting for traffic.
The first span could open in 2026
The hope is to open the first span in 2026 to celebrate statehood. The walkway is a public-private partnership, relying in part on philanthropy. History Colorado will act as the fiscal agent.
Civic Center in particular has struggled with closures and underuse lately, and has engendered debate for a century.
Polis was quick to dismiss concerns about spoiled sightlines and other changes to some of the state’s most recognizable buildings and spaces. “This will make our downtown Capitol complex even more iconic and amazing,” he said.
It’s not the first proposal for a bridge like this. A plan in 2006 from famed architect Daniel Liebeskind was once compared to a whale carcass. That one didn’t work out.
