UPDATE: BWCF Helps Cut Ribbon on Orlando’s Colonial Ped Bridge

The bridge, that spans State Road 50 (Colonial Dr.) and the railroad tracks, is the first trail overpass in Orlando.

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“What this bridge shows us, is that we live in a city, and we have elected leaders, and we have residents and a community that want a bridge that connects people– that gives people choice, and that says ‘yes,'” Day said.

Read more about the bridge, it’s construction, and it’s soft opening below.

Update 3/20:

The pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Colonial Drive is now open! The City of Orlando sent this tweet announcing the opening of the long-awaited bridge.

Can you guess which bridge this is?

Hint: It just opened. pic.twitter.com/3H0XJiUqjN

— City of Orlando (@citybeautiful) March 18, 2019

The City announced it will have a community event on April 16th at 10 am. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, along with other city officials and local dignitaries, along with Amanda Day, Executive Director of Bike/Walk Central Florida will be speaking at the event. 

Fast Facts

• The bridge will connect the Orlando Urban Trail to Gertrude’s walk, allowing people to get in and out of downtown without having to cross a busy street
• The bridge spans 230 feet over SR 50 and the railroad tracks
• It has 2 sets of stairs from Colonial Drive and 4 ramps, 2 on the north side, 2 on the south side
• The design includes a streetscape plaza under the main bridge pier
• It’s the first trail overpass in the City of Orlando

Orlando’s Colonial Pedestrian Bridge at night. Courtesy City of Orlando

Sign at ramp to Orlando’s Colonial Pedestrian Bridge. Courtesy City of Orlando

“What makes this bike-ped bridge…is it goes with the normal flow of how people walk and bike and that crossing over [State Road] 50, which is one of our most deadly corridors here in Orange County,” said Amanda Day, executive director of Bike/Walk Central Florida to the Orlando Sentinel. “It’s going to make it safer, easier and conflict-free.”

Original Post: March 4

After months of delays, cyclists, walkers and runners will soon have a much safer way to get in and out of Downtown Orlando. According to city officials, the pedestrian bridge over Colonial is set to open next month.

At a recent meeting of the Orlando Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, we learned the only things left to install are some cabling and some handrails.

Once open, the quarter-mile bridge will connect downtown to the Orlando Urban Trail and Gertrude’s Walk, allowing bicyclists and pedestrians to safely enter or leave downtown without the use of a car, or having to cross the congested road.

The bridge was originally slated to open Fall of 2018, but is now set for a likely ribbon cutting in April. City officials said one reason for the delay was that engineers were taking extra precautions after the pedestrian bridge collapse in Miami last year.

The Colonial pedestrian bridge will have embedded LED lighting, a swept-back main pier 88 feet tall and cable supports. It was partially paid for by a $9.2 million funding grant from the Florida Department of Transportation.

Eventually, Orlando officials also envision Gertrude’s Walk as connecting with the Shingle Creek Trail system in south Orange and north Osceola counties.

Of course, this will all become part of the larger, Coast-to-Coast trail network in Florida. The Coast to Coast Connector Trail will ultimately take you from Playalinda Beach on Florida’s Atlantic coast, to St. Petersburg on Florida’s Gulf coast. So far, workers have paved more than 250 miles of asphalt trail. 

Below are City of Orlando renderings for the bridge. Click an image to enlarge.