Exciting changes are in store for Kennesaw, Georgia. A pedestrian tunnel will help to unite the downtown area and make it easier for visitors to take in all that it has to offer.
Crews have begun construction of the $2.95 million pedestrian railroad underpass in downtown Kennesaw, a project expected to be completed by Jan. 31.
Although it may seem a stretch asking people to walk a bit farther south from where Main Street meets Cherokee to use the underpass, Mayor Mark Mathews said the project is another piece of the downtown revitalization effort.
"The No. 1 concern we hear from people is that we create a downtown where people want to go. A depot park master plan has been designed to include an amphitheater in the depot area. And on Main Street, a parking garage is planned near Watts Drive, which would spill out near the pedestrian underpass," Mathews said. Crews could begin building the garage in 2010, he said.
"We'll redesign the layout of our festivals to make the most of the underpass," Mathews said.
The L-shaped underpass will be 115 feet long and about eight feet high, said city manager Steve Kennedy. It will have sloped ramps - no steps - on each end.
At least 30 trains traverse the city's downtown daily, and city leaders want to incorporate their locomotive history, such as the Civil War-era story of the Great Locomotive Chase, into the underpass with murals.
The idea for the pedestrian tunnel was formulated in 1996, after the Olympics in Atlanta. In 2000, Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-east Cobb) secured $1.5 million in federal earmarks for the project. The city's portion is $290,102, which will come from the court services improvement fund. The rest of the money is coming from the Atlanta Regional Commission.
"With development planned for both sides of the tracks, the pedestrian flow will be more convenient at this location," Kennedy said. "We want our downtown to be a pedestrian-friendly environment, and this will enhance that desire."
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