The Platte River Pedestrian Bridge is one of three bridges that form a pedestrian and bicycle gateway between the Highland neighborhood to downtown Denver. This area had been an industrial and railroad center from Denver's earliest days. By the 1980's, it was largely disused and was a huge brownfield. The first major redevelopment in the area was the construction of Coors Field after the Colorado Rockies baseball team was established. Mayor Wellington Webb made redevelopment and public spaces a key priority during his three terms. This led to the clean up of the brownfields, extensive redevelopment with both high-end and affordable housing, and a network of parks and trails along the South Platte River.

Three main obstacles blocked access between downtown Denver and the neighborhoods to the west. This includes Interstate highway I-25, the South Platte River, and the Consolidated Main Line, a joint BNSF and Union Pacific railroad and light rail corridor. The highway was crossed with the Highland Bridge, while the railroad was crossed with the Denver Millennium Bridge. The river, sitting between these two other arteries, was crossed with this bridge, the Platte River Pedestrian Bridge. The bridge feeds into Commons Park, one of a series of parks and greenspaces built along the South Platte River where the old brownfields once sprawled. The redevelopment has been highly successful working as a catalyst for growth.

The photo above is looking southeast towards downtown Denver, with the main tower of the Millennium Bridge visible in the background. The photo below is looking east towards the upstream south face of the Platte River Bridge.

Note—these are iPhone 5 photos which imposes an upper limit on their quality.

These two photos are additional views looking east towards the upstream south face of the Platte River Pedestrian Bridge. The tall buildings in the background are the Glass House Condos, a residential building featuring loft-style homes.

These two photos are views from under the west end of the structure from the Colorado Front Range Trail. The photo above is looking east under the length of the bridge deck. The photo below is the west bridge abutment.

The photo above is the west end of the bridge deck as seen from the plaza on what was once 16th Street. The photo below is looking east along the length of the bridge deck towards downtown Denver.

These two photos are views of the bridge deck and railing. The photo above is looking down towards the river. The two white boxes in the railings are night lighting. The photo below is an observation deck at the center of the bridge that encloses the north main bridge tower.

These two photos are views of two cable attachment points. The photo above is a cable attachment as seen from the trail located under the bridge. The photo below is looking at a similar attachment point looking down from the bridge deck.

The photo above is the cable attachments at the top of one of the main bridge towers. The ring located just below the attachment points are a series of security cameras. The photo below is a close view of one of the light fixtures that illuminate the bridge deck at night.

The photo above is a view of the upstream side of the eastern bridge span as seen from the observation deck at the center of the bridge. The photo below is a view of the upstream south face of the Platte River Pedestrian Bridge as seen from the Commons Park.

These two photos are views from the Cherry Creek Trail, which passes under the east end of the Platte River Pedestrian Bridge. The photo above is the east bridge span. The photo below is the east bridge abutment.