Colorado Springs grew up around the Costilla Street Bridge.

Overhead, railway traffic rumbled for decades, exemplified by the faded Santa Fe Railway signs on the bridge’s steel girders. The sloping street underneath was the site of the inaugural Soap Box Derby in 1946, which was a traditional spot for the race until this year.

“It’s part of the ever-changing landscape of a city,” said Ryan Phipps, civil engineer with the city of Colorado Springs.

The bridge has been out of service since the turn of the century, with rail ties on the wide surface overgrown with weeds. In just a few days, the disused landmark will be going away as the city embarks on a removal process.

The work was planned to start this week, pending last-minute permitting. Workers will remove the wide bridge piece by piece, with the demolition set to end by Jan. 30. During the project, Costilla Street will be closed to traffic, with detours on Pikes Peak Avenue and Fountain Boulevard.

The disused bridge is one of the few remaining markers of downtown Colorado Springs’ eastern expansion in the mid-20th century, as the city filled in around places like the Union Printers Home and Memorial Park. The line would have run just a couple blocks north to the Santa Fe Railroad Depot, now the Catalyst Campus on Pikes Peak Avenue.

The bridge was built to accommodate the crossing of six different rail lines, according to Phipps. The nearby Shooks Run Trail follows a portion of the old railroad route.

“It’s still representing a transportation purpose,” he said.

Rail activity may be slightly less visible in central Colorado Springs today, but trains still lumber by with significant freight loads on the west and south sides of downtown. The city has been working with railroad companies and the federal government for years on a plan to update train infrastructure in the area, including the replacement of rail bridges over Nevada Avenue, Tejon Street and Shooks Run.

The plans are under federal environmental review, which is scheduled to be completed next year.

Rail company BNSF also has separate plans to replace the South Tejon Railroad Bridge, with a tentative timeline for construction starting in January 2026.