441
59
75
GEORGIA STATE EDITION
Cornella 19
A Supplement to:
Rome 85 27
Athens 441
Atlanta
20
Madison Augusta
85
20
Griffin 1
129
Milledgeville
75
La Grange
Macon
301
185 19
16
Dublin
Swainsboro Oak Park
Columbus
Statesboro
341 441 16
Lyons Americus
January 23 2013 Vol. XIV • No. 2
301
1
82
Dorchester
341
Cuthbert
75
Albany
84
Douglas Tifton
82
95
82
Blakely
Pearson
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.”
Savannah
McRae Cordele
27
27 84
Moultrie
19 319
84
Bainbridge
Valdosta Thomasville
Waycross Brunswick 82
1 441
Your Georgia Connection: Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479
PATH’s Southwest Beltline Connector Trail Gets Started By Cindy Riley CEG CORRESPONDENT
In Georgia, the PATH Foundation has begun construction of the Southwest BeltLine Connector Trail, Phase I, between the Lionel Hampton Trail, Westwood Avenue and Beecher Elementary School in southwest Atlanta. When work is completed, trail users will enjoy a trail connection into and around the core of the city, with schools, neighborhoods, parks and retail centers more accessible by foot or bike, rather than car. “The Southwest BeltLine Connector will link Atlanta neighborhoods near Cascade Road to the Atlanta BeltLine, a 22 milelong loop of trails around Atlanta,” said PATH Foundation Executive Director Ed McBrayer. “This is one of many spur trails PATH is building to feed commuter and recreational cyclists and pedestrians to the BeltLine, with the ultimate goals of reducing the need for a car and creating a healthier, happier lifestyle.” The idea for the trail was based on suggestions to connect Council District 11 to the Atlanta BeltLine. Part of the new trail runs parallel to Utoy Creek south of Westview Cemetery in green space the city bought in order to preserve land near tributaries to the Chattahoochee River. The trail will cross the creek and connect the entrance to Beecher Elementary School to the trail system. According to PATH Foundation Project Manager Jonathan McCaig, “Southwest Beltline Connector Trail and Spur Trail projects will involve construction of a twelve-foot wide multi-use
Morbark chippers hard at work on the clearing operation.
trail from Westview Road to the existing Lionel Hampton Trail, connecting Beecher Hills Elementary School and sidewalk connections as necessary. The project requires the contractor to install a pre-engineered pedestrian bridge, structural bridges, drainage structures, retaining walls, concrete trail and trail amenities. “The steep grades around the Beecher Elementary School parking lot required tall/long retaining walls,” said McCaig. “The project is being built in a floodplain in some areas, so a lot of thought went into the drainage design. A bridge will be erected over Utoy Creek, so the contractor has to fig-
ure out a way to bring in a large crane to drive piles and lift the bridge into place.” All design criteria follows the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) standard specifications and the GDOT supplemental specifications for construction of roads and bridges. Engineer Mark Holmberg, vice president of Marietta-based Heath & Lineback Engineers Inc., said, “We were responsible for the design of the retaining walls and bridges, as well as sediment control on the site. With erosion control, we were dealing with silt fence placement and stabilization of disturbed earth surfaces. We’ve
been involved with this project for a number of years, because of various delays that were out of our control and not design-related.” Part of the project calls for a steel truss bridge across a FEMAstudied stream. This involved a flood study of hydraulic data from FEMA so that engineers wouldn’t raise flood elevations upstream or downstream from the project. Teams also had to select a pre-constructed bridge and determine the design of appropriate foundations, based on a geotechnical investigation. “I’m glad to see work on this trail moving ahead,” said Holmberg. “The PATH
Foundation does an excellent job of providing products for users that will be enjoyed and well-constructed. The trail will be a wonderful asset for the community.” The $1.3 million project is funded by the city of Atlanta Parks Department. The project was developed by neighborhoods in the area working together with city officials and the PATH Foundation to find a way to connect to the Atlanta Beltline trail corridor. According to Peggy Lewallen, president of Lewallen Construction Co., work officially began on the project in midsee PATH page 2