A pedestrian bridge is planned to be constructed over Cobb Parkway near The Battery and SunTrust Park.
The Smyrna City Council voted on Oct. 7 to pay $830,000 to fund half of the required 20 percent match for a Transportation Improvements Program Infrastructure and Capital Investment Grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission for the cost of right-of-way acquisition, engineering and construction for the bridge.
Across eight lanes of traffic on Cobb Parkway, the Cobb Parkway Battery Pedestrian Bridge will connect the city of Smyrna to the $1 billion development represented by The Battery/SunTrust Park multi-use complex, according to a city statement. Between Starbucks and Steak and Shake on the Smyrna side, the bridge would connect just south of the Swapna Indian Restaurant on The Battery side.
Smyrna already has identified $4 million in the city’s 2022 SPLOST project list for this pedestrian bridge - about half of the estimated cost of $8,550,000. The Cumberland Community Improvement District and the Braves Development Company would pay the remainder of the project cost. Though not providing any funding, the Cobb County Board of Commissioners will serve as the project sponsor for the application submittal to the ARC.
Previously, this pedestrian bridge project was identified in the Spring Road Corridor Study adopted by Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon and the Council in May 2017.
The bridge is a key component of an overall infrastructure improvement program that is designed to help stimulate future development and redevelopment of the block bounded by Cobb Parkway, Cumberland Boulevard and Spring Road as well as that part of Smyrna located in the vicinity of The Battery and SunTrust Park.
About the Author
