Futuristic Pedestrian Bridge Opens Near Atlanta
The city of College Park, Ga., southwest of downtown Atlanta, now counts a can’t-miss, sculptural piece of people-friendly infrastructure that links two popular destinations and helps keep pedestrians and cyclists out of vehicle traffic.
Spanning 200 ft. across the four-lane Camp Creek Parkway, the Global Gateway Connector Bridge opened June 17, 2025, as a link between downtown College Park and the Georgia International Convention Center — a key part of a broader multi-use trail initiative in the area.
According to STV, an engineering firm with 60 offices across North America and the designers of the suspension bridge, the span is punctuated by an 80-ft.-tall steel baskethandle arch that required five cranes to lift and install in September 2024.
Urbanize Atlanta also noted other components, including dramatic lighting at night, a suspended deck and custom fence detailing and architectural rails.
The bridge project, situated a few hundred feet from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, cost $13.7 million, including work on support walls and improvements to nearby multi-use trails, according to STV.
Despite inflation, the project’s cost was still less than half of downtown Atlanta’s controversial serpentine bridge structure deluxe, Urbanize Atlanta reported June 19, 2025.
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Robins Air Force Base Site of New Battle Management Complex
Robins Air Force Base photo (L-R) are Col. Adam Shelton, 461st Air Control Wing commander; Col. Christopher Dunlap, 116th Air Control Wing commander; Lt. Col. Laureen James, 950th Spectrum Warfare deputy group commander; Lt. Col. Richard Elmore, the 472nd Electronic Combat Squadron commander; and Troy Funk, Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District construction division chief
A groundbreaking ceremony was held May 19, 2025, at Robins Air Force Base in central Georgia to mark the beginning of construction for a new Battle Management Combined Operations Complex (BMCOC), the U.S. Air Force announced.
Representatives of the 461st Air Control Wing (ACW), 950th Spectrum Warfare Group (SWG), 472nd Electronic Combat Squadron (ECS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) were on hand to lay the groundwork for the multiyear construction phase.
“It took a lot of time, effort and investments to get this building where it’s at,” said Col. Adam Shelton, commander of the 461st ACW. “[Air Combat
Command] has put a lot of time into this to make sure that we get it right.”
When completed, the $109 million facility will house the 461st ACW, the 950th SWG, the 319th Reconnaissance Wing, the 116th ACW and the 472nd ECS missions. This consolidation of units into a single location is designed to enable Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control, a key element of the Air Force’s modernization efforts for future warfighting.
“This building will be the operational heartbeat of what we are going to be providing from an electromagnetic spectrum perspective to the warfighter,” said Lt. Col. Laureen James, 950th SWG’s deputy group commander. “It is the pinnacle hub for delivering electromagnetic
spectrum operation assessments to all of the combat air forces.”
The BMCOC will house the 728th Battle Management Control Squadron operations center and a headquarters suite, featuring a tactical operations center, rapid deployable payload control element staging and storage, a maintenance operations center and comprehensive training and academic space for hardware and software testing.
Each will be supported by raised flooring, a 239-rack server room, standby generators, an uninterruptable power supply, robust utility and communication infrastructure and mission-critical power redundancies, according to the Air Force.
A photo of the new pedestrian bridge over Camp Creek Parkway
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Albany Bridge Replacement Set to Begin This Month
STV officials joined College Park dignitaries in opening the Gateway bridge.
As a subconsultant to Prime Engineering, STV served as the bridge engineer-of-record, providing complete structural design, construction documents and construction administration services for the bridge and mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) approach ramp walls supporting the access ramps.
The project’s connecting, 1.08-mi. trail begins downtown at the intersection of John Wesley Avenue and West Main Street before heading toward the convention center.
The 10-ft.-wide connector pathway was designed to optimize bicyclist and pedestrian safety — essentially making it a Camp Creek Parkway bypass for people not in cars — while providing access to schools, markets and medical clinics in the area.
It also serves to connect College Park’s downtown MARTA transit station to the convention center and, in theory, the long-planned Six West development, a massive proposal spanning more than 300 acres that has been likened to a southside version of Atlantic Station, a neighborhood north of Midtown Atlanta.
The Atlanta Regional Commission covered more than 80 percent of the Gateway project’s design and construction costs, with the remainder paid for via TSPLOST and College Park’s general fund, project officials previously told Urbanize Atlanta.
Josh Stamm, a STV senior engineer, said in a prepared statement the complex design and installation of the Gateway resulted in “both a visual landmark for the City of
College Park and a crucial infrastructure upgrade” that now provides a “seamless pedestrian link.”
Oglethorpe Boulevard Bridge to Close in July for $33M Replacement
The suspense of when the Oglethorpe Boulevard corridor between east and west Albany, Ga. will be severed is over with the scheduled July 22, 2025, closing of the roadway’s Flint River bridge for roughly a year so as to replace the structure.
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) informed Albany municipal officials June 23, 2025, of the planned closure date for the structure, interim Director of Engineering Robert Griffin told the Albany Herald.
The notification moves up the estimated time to begin the $33 million bridge demolition and replacement project from mid-August.
In the week prior to the announcement, fluorescent striped barrels were lined along the bridge and “Road Closed” signs were visible. Griffin said that was related to preparations for starting work at the site, including the rerouting of utilities. Motorists will soon see signs notifying them of the approaching closure.
“It’s just in preparation of getting material and equipment and utilities taken care of,” he said. “You should probably start seeing the message boards go up.”
Once the bridge is closed, the prime contractor, Southern Concrete Construction Co. Inc. in Macon, has up to a year to have the new bridge passable for traffic, Griffin said.
The road corridor and bridge carries traffic from not only
Robins Air Force Base Breaks Ground On BMCOC Facility
“This facility will build on future cooperation with all our stakeholders in future sustained Battlefield Airborne Communications Node aircraft missions supporting the global joint force coalition,” said Lt. Col. Richard Elmore, commander of the 472nd ECS. “It will be a lot of people working together in a collaborative partnership to ensure that major command mission sets are prioritized and executed.”
During the ceremony to kick off the construction, the same shovel from the 1994 groundbreaking of the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System building was used, a symbol of the transition from legacy systems to emerging technologies as the Air Force moves toward ground-based tactical command and control weapons systems.
The BMCOC will serve as a continental United States (CONUS) “theater-agnostic, long-range kill chain integrated targeting cell,” according to the Air Force, and “will connect legacy command and control agencies and joint multi-domain affecters, improving 728th BMCS’s technical capa-
bility and capacity.”
“I can safely say that these three missions will be tightly integrated, whether it’s the spectrum side, airborne communications and networking, or to the future of what we’re doing from a ground-based battle management perspective,” Shelton said.
The military branch is establishing the Air Forces Central Battle Management mission at Robins AFB, located on the east side of Warner Robins, Ga., south of Macon.
From there, the Air Force will provide 24-hour distributed battle management command and control to Central Command year-round. The mission integrates dispersed sensors across the region to provide air surveillance.
The BMCOC represents a significant investment in the future of air dominance and underscores Team Robins’ commitment to supporting the Air Force’s evolving mission requirements.
“It’s pretty phenomenal — this emphasis and recognition within the Air Force that we have a dedicated space and opportunity to move forward,” James said. “We’re definitely going to get to the future faster.”
Oglethorpe Boulevard, but also U.S Highway Business and Ga. 520 Business across the Flint River.
Macon residents also are being notified of detour plans for various destinations.
While the Broad Avenue bridge — just one block to the north of Oglethorpe Boulevard — is an option, it may lead to some congestion in the early morning and afternoon as motorists travelling to and from work cross the bridge.
“Albany swells during the day because of people who come into the city,” Griffin told the Albany news source. “You can expect [delays at Broad Avenue] to happen, say, between 7:30 and 8 a.m. and then from 5:30 to 6 p.m. as people try to get home.”
GDOT said that the Oglethorpe Boulevard bridge was originally built in 1953, and its design was based on vehicles that are not as heavy as those driven today.
The state agency also noted that the structure has an unknown foundation that could be at risk for scour, which is erosion of soil and sediment caused by the flow of water that can undermine the foundation.
Once the new bridge is open, it will improve pedestrian and cycling accessibility across the river with a sidewalk on the north side and a 12-ft.-wide shared-use path on the south side. In addition, the structure will have four 12-ft.-wide travel lanes.
Per its contract with GDOT, Southern Concrete is permitted to close the bridge for 365 calendar days to perform the work, meaning it is tentatively scheduled to reopen July 22, 2026.
AGC of Georgia Names Macon Board of Directors President
The Associated General Contractors of Georgia Inc. elected Mike Macon, senior vice president and business unit leader of Balfour Beatty, as its board president.
With more than 29 years of experience in the industry, Macon is widely recognized for his strategic vision, operational excellence and unwavering commitment to client success.
Joining Macon on AGC Georgia’s board are veteran industry professionals: Sean Moxley of Garbutt Construction Company as vice president, Scott Lawrence of McCarthy Building Companies Inc., as treasurer and Matt West of West Construction Company as secretary.
Active within AGC Georgia since 2011, Macon has contributed to various committees and taskforces while serving on the board of directors since 2017. He advocates for workforce development, expanding membership recruitment efforts and building on decades of successful advocacy for the construction community under Georgia’s Gold Dome.
“As board president of AGC Georgia, I am committed to leveraging my experience
and passion for the construction industry to drive positive change, foster collaboration and advance the interests of our members and the community at large,” Macon said.
“I look forward to working closely with my fellow board members and industry professionals to uphold AGC Georgia’s mission of promoting excellence and innovation in construction across our state.”
“Mike brings a wealth of experience, strong leadership and a deep commitment to both the construction industry and the community — qualities that make him a great fit for board president,” said AGC Georgia CEO Mike Dunham. “His active involvement with AGC Georgia over the years, along with his passion for workforce development and community engagement, reflects the kind of leadership that will help move our association ahead.”
Outside of work, Macon cherishes quality time with his family. On weekends, you’ll likely find him coaching his sons in baseball, basketball and flag football, cheering on his Florida Gators and all of Atlanta’s sports teams, or enjoying a round of golf.
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