Augusta’s Freedom Bridge has garnered the Georgia Department of Transportation a regional award for quality of life and community development projects.
The “Historic 5th Street Pedestrian Bridge Rehabilitation Project” won in the small project category in the 2023 America’s Transportation Awards competition between 14 southeastern states.
“The transformation of this historic bridge from a potentially hazardous secondary passageway for vehicle traffic across the Savannah River to a historically preserved pedestrian destination and community beautification centerpiece is a welcomed improvement for downtown Augusta and North Augusta,” said Phil Wahl, a member of the Transportation Investment Act citizen review panel for the CSRA Region.
The $11 million project, funded primarily with 1% transportation sales tax funds, converted the structurally-deficient 1932 bridge to a pedestrian-only walkway, adding benches, a painted deck, lighting, water fountains, planters and interactive musical features.
The City of Augusta managed construction of the project using area contractors. Georgia Department of Transportation oversaw construction deadlines and its use of regional transportation sales tax funds.
The award, given for projects that cost up to $25 million, was given out with seven others at the Southern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ annual meeting held in Mobile, Ala., earlier this week.
The bridge recently garnered Augusta a 2023 “Georgia County of Excellence” award from the Association County Commissioners Georgia.
After it opened last year, the Augusta Commission christened the structure the “Freedom Bridge” over objections area residents had to discarding its legacy as a memorial to Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy.
Long known to locals and on maps as the Fifth Street Bridge, the structure was originally called the Jefferson Davis Memorial Bridge. The bridge retains marble segments and restored bronze plaques bearing Davis’ name and likeness.
