Question: What is the Seventh Street Station?

The Grand Avenue bridge project has started work on the Seventh Street Station. The station is the south landing site for the pedestrian bridge. It will contain the elevators and stairway up to the bridge deck from the Seventh Street Plaza.

As you might have noticed, crews have begun the seven-month final push to complete the pedestrian bridge by the March 2017 grand opening. The Seventh Street Station is a critical part of that work.

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People visiting downtown will definitely see increased construction activity on Seventh Street between Colorado and Cooper. FCI, the subcontractor for the construction, began with the station’s foundation walls and footings last week.

Located on the north side of Seventh Street, the station will provide access to the pedestrian bridge by a stairway and dual glass elevators, which will accommodate bicycles with trailers, disabled access and large groups. The upper deck of the elevator will be approximately 26 feet by 32 feet.

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“The idea behind this design,” said Leslie Bethel, Downtown Development Authority director, “is to create a space that is user-friendly and harmonizes with Glenwood’s active lifestyle.”

Along with the elevators, the two-story station will have a staircase for pedestrians to make the 24-foot ascent from street level to the bridge deck. The stairwell is built wide to cater to large crowds and contains a bike channel to allow cyclists to walk their bikes up and down the stairs. Two lookout points provide fantastic views of the Colorado River, mountainous peaks and Glenwood Canyon.

The aspect that stands out the most is the masonry work associated with finalizing Seventh Street Station. In November, locals and tourists will begin to see the brick and stone work, which will be the station’s exterior finish. The masonry work and pattern was chosen to keep a consistent look and feel in Glenwood Springs.

In addition to providing a direct, non-vehicular connection between downtown and the historic Hot Springs district, the new pedestrian bridge will house all the utilities for the bridge project in the basement utility vault. This includes everything from natural gas lines to electric to fiber optic. These major utilities will begin at a large storage vault on the north side of the bridge and continue through the steel girders across I-70 and the Colorado River, terminating at the Seventh Street Station.

When the station is complete, the city of Glenwood Springs will take ownership of Seventh Street Station and will be responsible for maintenance.