Aurora TAPS hears updates on Gartrell Bridge, pedestrian bridge and dozens of other projects

Kathy Valencia, Transportation Project Delivery Manager in Aurora's Public Works department, gave the committee a quarterly snapshot of active and upcoming transportation projects across the city.

Valencia said the Gartrell Bridge expansion in southeast Aurora will widen the existing structure to five lanes and add multimodal improvements and new traffic signals; the project came in under budget with a low bid of $8.8 million against a $10.1 million construction estimate, and Valencia said construction is expected to begin within the next month with an anticipated 12‑month schedule.

She also discussed a pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Parker Road at the 9 Mile RTD station that includes covered ramps, stairs and art integration; the low bid of $9.3 million was below the $13.1 million estimate and is funded with a federal grant and local match. Valencia said the Phase 1 missing sidewalk project will construct sidewalks at seven deficient locations with federal and local funding and is scheduled to start construction this spring.

Operational improvements at Parker/Quincy/Smoky Hill, Del Mar (triangle) signal and bus stop upgrades, and an alley paving program serving Northwest Aurora were among other near‑term items Valencia reviewed. She described longer‑term projects—Laredo Street bridge replacement (box culvert and sidewalks), Gun Club multimodal improvements (2 lanes to 4 lanes with multimodal paths), Aurora Parkway bridge and Alameda bridge (CDOT‑owned) —noting some designs are funded while construction funding is still being pursued.

Valencia said the city is pursuing multiple grants, including applications for Peoria bridge replacement over Salmon Creek and Mont View multimodal improvements, and expects some funding decisions in 2026. On funding questions from council members, staff explained constraints on matching different grant "colors of money" and noted staff have combined various sources when allowable.

Council members asked for more project distribution in specific wards, asked for a projected groundbreaking date for a particular bridge and sought clarification about funding matches; staff answered that some projects are close to starting in May and that final maintenance and operations costs will be addressed during project development.

The update provided a broad look at the city's pipeline of nearly 900 project elements in the Connecting Aurora plan and individual capital projects in various stages of design and construction.