Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has nixed his plans for a $28.5 million pedestrian bridge to the State Capitol after just 3.8% of Coloradans surveyed supported the idea.
“There will not be a walkway at the State Capitol,” he told Denver7 anchor Jessica Porter, who has been following the bridge proposal in recent weeks. “And I was glad to see a very clear outcome.”
More than 87,000 people voted in a survey released by the governor’s office late last week. Only 3,330 of them said they wanted the bridge and another 2,043 replied “maybe.”
Nearly 94% of those surveyed – 82,213 – voted “No.”
“I think it helps set our priorities now,” Polis said. “Part of it is fiscal, right? Meaning, people are saying, ‘Hey, in this era of cutbacks [...] how can we make sure that every precious state dollar we have goes to the best purpose? I think other people cared about where it was, what it looked like.”
The governor was referencing, of course, the $1.5 trillion in spending cuts included in President Trump’s recently-passed megabill, which include healthcare cuts. More than $60 million in education grants to Colorado also remain frozen at the federal level.
While some people Denver7 spoke to supported the bridge project, dubbed the CO150 Walkway, for what it could do for tourism and education, it was widely criticized for its hefty price tag and what some considered a gaudy aesthetic.
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"Historic Denver welcomes the Governor's decision not to proceed with the planned bridge over Lincoln Street," the nonprofit said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. "Civic Center is one of the most historic spaces in the city, being both a local Historic District and the only National Historic Landmark within the city limits. Changes and additions to the space need to be considered with care and it has been heartening to see the public reaction in recent weeks."
"We hope that attention can shift to celebrating Colorado's 150th anniversary next year and that this can involve the activation and reinvigoration of Civic Center at ground level."
Polis said the state had committed about $8 million to the project and the rest would need to come from private fundraising.
“It's certainly less work for me. I don't have to raise the $10 or $12 million I would need to raise for this, which is a relief,” he said. “We can focus on how Coloradans want to celebrate [the state’s 150th birthday] but more importantly, just focus on my job and delivering results.”
Polis had a tongue-in-cheek response to the overwhelming rejection of his bridge idea. A partially AI-generated image posted to the governor’s official X account showed Polis donning a safety vest and blocking the bridge project.
Coloradans who took part in our online survey have voted not to proceed with the Colorado 150 Pedestrian Walkway to celebrate our 150th anniversary as a state. Thank you to everyone who shared their opinions and voted. I will commit my time and effort to prevent this walkway from… pic.twitter.com/V6eIybobr9
— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) July 22, 2025
The news release announcing his decision not to pursue it joked that he “pledges to chain himself to the Capitol plaza to stop the walkway, if needed.”
Polis told Denver7 he will continue in general with plans to commemorate the state's 150th birthday – the nation's 250th – in 2026. One of the survey questions asked respondents to weigh which of those benchmarks was most important.
"[There was] pretty strong support, overwhelmingly, for both equally," he said. "So you're going to see a lot of the branding, which we had initially rolled out, what we're going to stick with."