Mayor Michael Hancock cut the ribbon on much needed improvements to the Blake Street bridge over 38th Street on Thursday.

What was once a rundown, three-lane road without sidewalks is now a two-lane street with painted bike lanes in each direction and roomy sidewalks for people walking to and from the adjacent 38th and Blake RTD station.

The sidewalks connect to a pedestrian bridge over the train tracks, which makes the River North and Cole neighborhoods accessible to one another by foot or by bike.

“One of our goals was to strengthen the transportation network in this area and better connect it to other parts of town,” Hancock said. “The new and improved Blake Street bridge over 38th helps further this vision for safer streets and our city’s ongoing efforts to provide people choices in how they get around our great city.”

All told, 4,000 linear feet of sidewalks have been added throughout the neighborhood, Director of Transportation Crissy Fanganello said.