No L Line train has run on Welton Street since June 7, 2026. RTD has also put a date on the next big disruption. A full-depth rebuild of the track from Broadway to 30th•Downing could start as early as mid- to late-2027. That leaves this winter as a gap. The trains are gone, the crews haven't arrived, and the street runs on what's already on it.
Two dates bracket the street
The L Line's suspension is one piece of RTD's Downtown Rail Reconstruction Project, which started in May 2024 and works through the oldest light rail track in the system section by section. Welton is the last section on the list. Here is the order, by RTD's own timeline:
| Phase | Status per RTD | What it means on Welton |
|---|---|---|
| Five Key Intersections, including Broadway and Welton | Finished August 29, 2024, ahead of schedule | The southwest end of the corridor was rebuilt first |
| Colfax Avenue Alignment | June 7, 2026 through Q1 2027 | Trains can't reach the Downtown Loop, so the L Line is suspended |
| Downtown Loop Midblocks | June 7, 2026 through Q1 2027 | Same reason, same suspension |
| Welton Street Corridor | Could start as early as mid- to late-2027 | Track rebuilt from Broadway to 30th•Downing, station high blocks replaced |
RTD's reason for halting the L Line is simple. With the Colfax and Downtown Loop work underway, it can't run trains through Colfax at Auraria and the Downtown Loop. In its September 2026 service-change materials, RTD says the L Line will stay suspended until the whole project is finished in 2027. No specific day or month is given.
Put those together and the downtown work keeps trains off Welton through at least the first quarter of 2027. After that, the Welton phase itself could start as early as mid- to late-2027. RTD will also review station accessibility at the existing L Line stops during that phase.
What replaced the train, and what comes back
RTD's substitute for L Line riders is Route 43. It used to run every 15 minutes at weekday peak between Central Park Station and 11th–Larimer. Since June it runs every 7.5 minutes. The current Route 43 timetable runs from September 27, 2026 through January 2, 2027, and lists 31st–Downing and downtown among its timing points. Anyone planning holiday trips past January 2 should check the new timetable once it's posted.
The returning line will look different from the old one. RTD's September materials describe a reinstated L Line running from 30th•Downing to at least I-25•Broadway. Going farther will depend on ridership demand, funding and operations. RTD frames the longer route as a way to restore connections lost when the D Line stopped running through the Downtown Loop.
The train that comes back to Welton is planned to reach farther than the one that left. Between now and then, the street has to fill itself with its own anchors and no rail traffic.
The two Fridays that fill the corridor
The Five Points Business Improvement District has two First Fridays left in 2026, on Friday, Nov. 6 and Friday, Dec. 4. Both start at 5 p.m., with live music, local vendors, food and drinks spread across several spots along the corridor. The BID's event pages for November and December are the place to confirm details before you go.
On Dec. 4, Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom at 2637 Welton Street has BERTHA: Grateful Drag, with doors at 7:30 p.m. and the show at 8:30. That fits after First Friday. The corridor event starts at 5, and the ballroom doors open two and a half hours later. Cervantes' calendar has the current lineup. Its November 4 show sold out before it happened.
The Friday schedule has one catch. The library at the other end of the corridor closes at 5 p.m., the same moment First Friday starts.
The library at the downtown end, open late on Tuesdays
Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library at 2401 Welton St. is open Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Its third-floor museum opens an hour after the building does and closes an hour before. On a First Friday, the museum floor closes at 4, an hour before music starts on the corridor.
That matters this season more than most. Through December 2026, Blair-Caldwell is the Denver stop for "Proclaiming Colorado's Black History," the statewide traveling exhibit organized by the Museum of Boulder. The two runs overlap. The exhibit's Aurora History Museum stop runs through November 8, and its next stop after Denver is Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park, from January 19 to June 19, 2027. After December, seeing it means a trip across town.
Tuesday is the one late night. Per Denver Public Library, the building is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day, which keeps the museum floor open until 7. The other weekday hours are 9 to 6 Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and the library is closed Sundays. The reading room keeps shorter hours, noon to 4 on weekdays, and is closed on weekends.
The lobby also has a smaller draw that suits winter. The Denver Post reported in August on Blair-Caldwell's free plant propagation library. Visitors drop off cuttings and starts, and anyone can take one home. Bringing a cutting is not required to take one. The library also accepts glass jars and other containers for water cuttings, and the Post says to check in at the front desk first.
Here is one way to fit both ends of the corridor into a single week:
- Tuesday, after work. Blair-Caldwell until the museum floor closes at 7, with a stop in the lobby propagation library on the way out. Bring a mason jar if you have one.
- Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A second exhibit visit if you need one. The museum floor follows the 10 to 5 building hours.
- Friday, Dec. 4, from 5 p.m. First Friday along the corridor, then Cervantes for doors at 7:30.
What sits between the library and the ballroom
The stretch between Blair-Caldwell and 30th•Downing is where the track rebuild will hit hardest, and it's also where the corridor's regular stops are. The Five Points BID business directory, last updated in February 2026, lists these along and just off Welton:
- Fifth Coffee House, 710 E. 26th Ave.
- Cervantes Masterpiece Theater, 2637 Welton St.
- Spangalang Brewery, 2736 Welton St., Unit 102
- Mimosas, 2752 Welton St.
- Le Rougarou, 2844 Welton St.
- Welton Street Cafe, 2883 Welton St.
The directory dates from February, so check hours directly before planning around any one stop.
Fifth Coffee House is the newest of the six. Westword covered its opening in August 2025, at a corner whose earlier coffee shop, Coffee at the Point, had closed. 9NEWS reported that it opened on Juneteenth 2025 and described it as a neighborhood gathering place. The same 9NEWS story said the BID had counted about 20 vacant Welton storefronts and was talking with city leaders about revitalizing the corridor.
The biggest project on the street runs on a longer timeline than the track. In May 2026, Denverite reported that a City Council committee gave initial approval to tax-increment financing for the Rossonian redevelopment. The plan calls for 18 rooms in the historic building, 72 more hotel rooms nearby, 36 rooms in part of the Hooper, plus food-and-beverage and event space. The developer is targeting a 2028 opening for a $101 million project, with up to $15.5 million in TIF reimbursement. That was a proposal at the committee stage, not a groundbreaking.
If you own a home near Welton and want to know how the 2027 track work and the planned L Line route might matter for timing a sale or a renovation, Nick Crothers can go through RTD's published schedule with you against your own plans. Book a Free Market Strategy Call.
