The next time you’re doing business in Golden, do yourself the pleasure of stopping by to see an old Evergreen friend.

Okay, maybe not “friend” so much as “brief acquaintance.” Or, possibly, “unwelcome guest,” or even “bitter enemy,” depending on how long you can hold a grudge. In any case, you’ll likely find a courtesy call to Evergreen’s one-time Dam Bridge well worth the effort.

Set out from Lions Park, a restful haven of grass and quietude across from the Golden Community Center on 10^th Street. Pointing your feet west, mosey up the smooth cement path beside Clear Creek’s rushing waters until concrete gives way to dirt. You’ve just entered Jefferson County Open Space’s Grant Terry Park, some 13 acres of wild splendor at the mouth of Clear Creek Canyon.

Continuing along the broad, sun-dappled trail beneath a rustling cottonwood canopy, spare a nod and a smile for the young mother behind the stroller, the family pedaling along on their bicycles, the older couple strolling hand in hand. Though quite new, the Grant Terry Trail has already attracted a diverse and loyal clientele.

Finally, after a pleasant half mile of birdsong, butterflies and willow hedge, a soaring outline suddenly appears above the green riot, a majestic construction of weathered steel uniting Clear Creek’s stony banks. Could this noble span really be the most maligned character in Evergreen history? The one variously condemned as a “disgrace,” an “eyesore” and “insulting” by outraged Evergreen worthies?

In fact, it’s one and the same, and Golden residents Kevin and Liana Wolfe are pleased to welcome the massive castaway to their neighborhood.

“I think it looks good,” says Kevin, sitting atop his bicycle at the bridge’s northern abutment. “I’ve always liked that industrial style.”

“It’s nice to ride over,” Liana says, admiring the bridge’s rusty patina from the stylish seat of a sleek, retro-style coaster. “You get a good view of the creek from up there.”

For those Evergreen residents lucky enough to have missed all the ruckus, the Gilded City’s newest pedestrian conduit was originally intended to facilitate foot traffic between Evergreen Lake and Main Street. Alas, JCOS neglected to obtain a general public nod on the project before installing the bridge next to next to the Evergreen dam in late summer, 2004. By Christmas, vehement public criticism had run the walkway clean out of town.

For years the banished bridge languished on the Greeley compound of its creator, Big R Manufacturing, providing access from nowhere to nowhere else at a cost to the county of $600 a month. Then, last fall, it received a new lease on life.

“It worked out pretty well, really,” explains JCOS planner Dennis Faulkner. “We needed a bridge to connect Grant Terry Park on one side of the creek with Clear Creek County on the other, and that bridge was all ready to go.”

It should be noted that, at the moment, the former Dam Bridge still doesn’t really go anywhere. The wide gravel path extends less than a hundred yards into Clear Creek County before melting into the wilderness. Happily, plans are in the works that could someday transform Evergreen’s ugly duckling into Golden’s most popular swan.

“The idea is to connect Golden with the proposed Clear Creek Trail,” says Faulkner. “In concept, that trail will run up Clear Creek Canyon as far as Tunnel No. 1, and eventually tie into the Continental Divide Trail. But the bridge gets a surprising amount of traffic right now, even without a trail on the other side. Joggers, families, picnickers – you’d be amazed.”

If the backwoods viaduct doesn’t necessarily amaze the Vogelsang family, it’s definitely got their attention.

“We’ve ridden up here many times, but this is the first time we’ve been across the creek,” says Chris Vogelsang, fresh from a round trip with his wife, Beth, and their 8-year-old son, Andrew. “It’s a great bridge, and a really good addition to this community.”