Mark from Denver writes, “What’s driving you crazy? The exit from I-25N to 23rd Ave at the Aquarium is a disaster waiting to happen. It requires a gymnastic twist of head and body to watch eastbound 23rd traffic as well as watching for bicyclists in their lane. Last year Denver even failed to mow the weeds in the small island causing even more of a traffic hazard. Maybe your focus on this can get the city’s attention.”
The weeds have been cut back and are pretty much dead at this point, but the awkward hard left look is still there Mark, but that could change in the next year as major changes have been proposed to alleviate this problem, including closing that ramp forever. That drastic move is one suggestion of a major project that would replace the bridges at 23 rd Ave. as well as at Speer Boulevard over Interstate 25. Right now, the Colorado Department of Transportation is in the study phase as decision makers consider several options to replace the bridges and improve traffic flow on and above I-25.
The key to any changes to I-25 in central Denver are those two bridges. 23 rd Ave. was built in 1952 and is rated as structurally deficient . The June 2022 structural evaluation listed that bridge as “somewhat better than minimum adequacy to tolerate being left in place as is” and received a clearance rating for I-25 traffic passing under it of “basically intolerable requiring high priority of corrective action.”…