After more than a decade of brainstorming, planning, and pulling funds together, the long-sought upgrade for one of Atlanta’s most iconic selfie meccas is set to begin soon.
According to the City of Atlanta Department of Transportation and Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, a joint groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled the morning of July 8 for Jackson Street Bridge’s people-friendly makeover.
The bridge has long served as one of Atlanta’s most popular destinations for wedding photos, Insta posts, The Walking Dead tourism, and anything else involving skyline photography.
Initially floated in 2014, the idea for redoing the bridge has been refined with neighborhood input over the years. In 2019, Colorado-based advocacy group PeopleForBikes awarded Atlanta a $10,000 grant to help make the miniature park—or “parklet”—happen on the bridge, dotted with shrubs, trees, and interesting, functional seating.
The project was voted by Urbanize Atlanta readers as the top “wish list” item of 2022, back when it appeared on the cusp of happening, per city officials at the time. (False alarm).
The revised Jackson Street placemaking plan that was once expected to move forward in 2021, per city officials.Department of City Planning; Atlanta City Studio
Liliana Bakhtiari, Atlanta City Council member (District 5), told Urbanize Atlanta in March last year her office had allocated $300,000 toward the Jackson Street Bridge project to fully finance it. The Atlanta Downtown Improvement District then stepped in to help with the bidding process for construction companies to implement changes on the bridge and nearby streets.
As part of the Department of City Planning’s Placemaking Program, the project will reconfigure traffic and bike lanes along Jackson Street to increase safety and vibrancy.
The bridge’s parklet would be a wide pedestrian area with seating, ADA access, an array of plantings in raised planters, and possibly bike racks, city officials have said.
A new protected cycle track would extend from the PATH Foundation’s Freedom Park Trail to the Baker-Highland Trail, better linking Old Fourth Ward with downtown.
The project completed the permitting process in 2021 with both Atlanta’s and Georgia’s departments of transportation. Renew Atlanta funds are expected to foot most of the bill, officials said at that time.
Below, find before/after glimpses of what’s now planned for Jackson Street Bridge, according to ATLDOT’s most recent renderings, beginning just south of the bridge at Cain Street, near the PATH Foundation trail:
