Peoria Street Bridge Replacement

Share Peoria Street Bridge Replacement on Facebook Share Peoria Street Bridge Replacement on Twitter Share Peoria Street Bridge Replacement on Linkedin Email Peoria Street Bridge Replacement link
Aerial view of Peoria Bridge spanning Sand Creek with open spaces, trails, trees and mountains and houses in the background.

Background

The city of Aurora intends to replace the Peoria Street bridge over Sand Creek and widen Peoria to six travel lanes to improve safety and mobility for an essential transportation corridor.

The existing 60-year-old bridge narrows Peoria Street from six lanes to four, creating a bottleneck. This contributes to delays and operational inefficiencies at the Peoria Street and Fitzsimons Parkway intersection. Additionally, the sidewalks throughout the project area are substandard. This project aims to address these issues by improving travel operations, enhancing connectivity for travelers, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, minimizing injuries and crashes, and increasing mobility for all populations.

The project is currently in the conceptual design phase. Given physical constraints and technical requirements, the team will prepare the most promising conceptual design to move forward with based on an initial screening process. As the project advances, there will be opportunities for the community to review and provide feedback on the design. The survey seeking input on your experience with Peoria Street between Fitzsimons Parkway/MLK Jr. Boulevard and 30th Avenue is now closed. Thanks to everyone who participated. We will continue to update this page as the project progresses.

Project Location

Peoria Street serves as a critical connector for both the city and the greater Aurora-Denver metropolitan region. The Peoria corridor connects to I-70, functions as a relief route for I-225, and is a designated freight route on the National Highway System. It also links two major urban centers while supporting multimodal transportation options, including access to transit stops and a light rail station within a half mile of the project area. Additionally, the Peoria Street bridge spans the Sand Creek Regional Greenway, a key recreational and ecological corridor.

Project Goals

  • Deliver a resilient and long-term solution to reduce current and future traffic congestion and improve air quality.
  • Enhance multimodal access and experience along Peoria Street and connections to the Sand Creek Regional Greenway Trail.
  • Ensure the Sand Creek basin is not negatively impacted by the new improvements.
  • Replace a functionally obsolete bridge to improve user safety.

Background

The city of Aurora intends to replace the Peoria Street bridge over Sand Creek and widen Peoria to six travel lanes to improve safety and mobility for an essential transportation corridor.

The existing 60-year-old bridge narrows Peoria Street from six lanes to four, creating a bottleneck. This contributes to delays and operational inefficiencies at the Peoria Street and Fitzsimons Parkway intersection. Additionally, the sidewalks throughout the project area are substandard. This project aims to address these issues by improving travel operations, enhancing connectivity for travelers, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, minimizing injuries and crashes, and increasing mobility for all populations.

The project is currently in the conceptual design phase. Given physical constraints and technical requirements, the team will prepare the most promising conceptual design to move forward with based on an initial screening process. As the project advances, there will be opportunities for the community to review and provide feedback on the design. The survey seeking input on your experience with Peoria Street between Fitzsimons Parkway/MLK Jr. Boulevard and 30th Avenue is now closed. Thanks to everyone who participated. We will continue to update this page as the project progresses.

Project Location

Peoria Street serves as a critical connector for both the city and the greater Aurora-Denver metropolitan region. The Peoria corridor connects to I-70, functions as a relief route for I-225, and is a designated freight route on the National Highway System. It also links two major urban centers while supporting multimodal transportation options, including access to transit stops and a light rail station within a half mile of the project area. Additionally, the Peoria Street bridge spans the Sand Creek Regional Greenway, a key recreational and ecological corridor.

Project Goals

  • Deliver a resilient and long-term solution to reduce current and future traffic congestion and improve air quality.
  • Enhance multimodal access and experience along Peoria Street and connections to the Sand Creek Regional Greenway Trail.
  • Ensure the Sand Creek basin is not negatively impacted by the new improvements.
  • Replace a functionally obsolete bridge to improve user safety.

  • Share Your Experience Survey Summary

    Share Share Your Experience Survey Summary on Facebook Share Share Your Experience Survey Summary on Twitter Share Share Your Experience Survey Summary on Linkedin Email Share Your Experience Survey Summary link

    A non-scientific survey was conducted from June 2 to Aug. 15, 2025 to gather community feedback on Peoria Street between Fitzsimons Parkway/MLK Jr. Boulevard and 30th Avenue. A total of 126 responses were recorded, with most respondents reporting that they travel along Peoria Street primarily by vehicle. Bicycling was the second most common mode of transportation. The majority of respondents indicated they travel the corridor a few times a week or month, while fewer than 15 percent reported using it daily.

    Survey participants were asked to rank the importance of several upgrades proposed as part of the project. The highest priorities were building a shared-use path along Peoria Street and addressing intersection congestion, followed by adding travel lanes. Widening sidewalks and improving access to Sand Creek Park and the Sand Creek Greenway received the lowest rankings, although all five upgrades were rated relatively closely in importance.

    56 respondents (44 percent) left additional information for the team regarding current conditions or potential improvements. A few themes emerged in the written comments. There is a divide between support for increasing vehicle capacity to address the current bottleneck and concerns that road widening will negatively impact safety. Many respondents are interested in improvements to the Sand Creek Greenway Trail including better connections from Peoria Street. Vehicle speed reduction strategies are desired along with safety improvements for pedestrians and cyclists. Multiple comments cited issues with current signal timing along Peoria Street between I-70 and the MLK Jr. Boulevard / Fitzsimons Parkway intersection. A few respondents also advocated for the inclusion of public art as part of the project.

Page last updated: 23 Oct 2025, 07:51 AM