Finally, Sanity Strikes Public Works

Passers-by watch work on the bridge over 26th St. 

After months at a standstill, work resumed today on the bridge over 26th St. connecting Independence Park to the Museum of Modern Art. The work was halted last year after residents of the Torres del Parque, located behind the nearby Plaza de Toros (the bullfighting stadium) sued, citing damage to the park and design mistakes.

This week, a court nixed the Torres residents' lawsuit.

A view of the partly-completed bridge, taken from
a window of the Museum of Modern Art. 

The project is certainly imperfect. But leaving it half-done or even dismantling it were the very worst of the possible options. The finished project will be a nice addition to the city center and restore a bit of the park, which has been sliced up by road construction.

The unfinished bridge is also preventing the extension of the 26th St. TransMilenio express bus line east to the Universidades Station. (For its part, the western end ends about 1.5 kms from the airport, and if and when it will be completed isn't clear.)

Placing a beam. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours