In 1983, Georgia-based R.E.M. released their debut album featuring an image of an abandoned railroad trestle on the album’s back cover. Fifteen years later, the railroad began an effort to demolish the trestle—creating an outcry among music lovers and community members that resulted in the purchase of the trestle by the Athens Clarke County Consolidated Government. Over the next two decades, local officials created and implemented a 39-mile rails-to-trails project between Athens and Union Point, Georgia—save for a 500-foot section where the R.E.M. Murmur Trestle stood. This Firefly Bridge over Trail Creek is a story of developing a strategic public engagement effort and interdisciplinary design process to address the Murmur Trestle and complete the Firefly Trail through Dudley Park in Athens, Georgia. Design of the Firefly Bridge required research, community engagement, and thoughtful leadership to create a solution that honors the former structure’s history. Community discussions centered around the historical relevance of the trestle, its cultural significance, and recognition of African American builders who constructed the original trestle. Our tangled tale will examine the benefits and challenges of engaging a diverse community throughout the planning and design process, how community perspectives helped bring new life to old infrastructure, and the challenges and successes of navigating a complex design and construction process during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the conclusion of this session participants will be better able to:
• Grasp lessons learned in developing strategic engagement plans to inform complex infrastructure designs.
• Improve their understanding of the challenges presented by updating historic and/or culturally significant infrastructure.
• Identify opportunities to create designs that meet modern needs while honoring historic and cultural elements.

Contributor/Source

Eric Bosman

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