Pedestrian bridge on Follow Me Trail delayed over Victory Drive

A $2.1 million bridge project to connect the Follow Me Trail across Victory Drive is not moving fast enough for a south Columbus resident.

Two weeks before Christmas, the resident raised questions about the construction because the work already had been stalled for more than six weeks. A city official said the project was slowed by the discovery of some AT&T cable lines in the area that weren’t previously known.

Rick Jones, director of the Planning Department for the Consolidated Government, said the bridge contractor had to stop the process and allow the telephone company time to remove the lines.

“I was told back in December that they had completed that work and they were back on schedule as far as I know on getting the bridge set to be put in place,” Jones said Friday.

The planning director said he would like to see the project completed sooner than later.

“Unfortunately, we had the little problem with the utility line,” he said. “We have overcome that and we are moving along for the most part.”

The Follow Me Trail runs from Cusseta Road south near Eagle Trace Apartments on Torch Hill Road. Under construction by Southeastern Site Development Inc. of Newnan, Ga., the bridge will allow walkers, runners or bicycle riders to safely cross the busy section of Victory Drive.

That stretch of trail is about 2 miles but the city is working to possibly extend the route to the National Infantry Museum. The addition could add almost a mile to the trail.

“The other thing about it is that it actually will tie in or provide access to the RiverWalk itself,” Jones said. “You could get on that trail and walk, ride, run or whatever to the Infantry Museum and get on the RiverWalk itself.”

While the bridge work continues, some folks may not realize the pace of the construction until it’s complete. The bridge will be constructed at a plant and trucked to the location after the footings and platforms are completed on each side of Victory Drive.

“They have to truck it in here and set it in place,” Jones said of the structure spanning the east and westbound traffic lanes. “I anticipate it would be done late one night or early one morning. They will be dropping it in place, bolting it down and it’s ready to go.”

Jones said he hopes the structure will be completed by the early summer.

While the Follow Me Trail is under construction on the south end of Columbus, residents also are concerned about plans to extend the trail at Psalmond Road. The trail was made possible after Norfolk Southern allowed the city to acquire the abandoned railroad track.

Jones said Psalmond Road is the end of the popular trail in that area.

“We looked at that early on when the city bought the land from Norfolk Southern,” he said.

Once the railroad abandoned the track, Jones said the land is now in the hands of adjoining property owners.

“At that time, we only had so much money to deal with,” he said. “It’s something we did look at and would like to have done it, unfortunately, Psalmond Road is as far as we could go with that project.”

The trail from Columbus State University north to Psalmond Road is one of the most scenic in the city.

“I think a lot of folks enjoy it,” he said. “We just try to encourage the use of it the best we know how.”

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This story was originally published January 14, 2018 at 1:21 PM with the headline "Pedestrian bridge on Follow Me Trail delayed over Victory Drive."