We brought the 90’s back to Downtown Duluth on June 22! Our community relived the nostalgia of the decade with arcade games, throwback music, a giant lite brite, themed photo-ops and more! Learn more about our Fridays-N-Duluth series and other upcoming events by visiting duluthga.net/events.

Photography provided by DV Photo Video.

On Friday, June 10 Downtown Duluth played host to international acts including Carpenters Academy of Irish Dance, Berdole Flamenco, Lunar Krew K-Pop Dancers, Chinese Lion Dancers, African Dancers, Brazillian Dancers, Moroccan Belly Dancers and Mariachi Mexico as part of our Fridays-N-Duluth series.

Photography courtesy of Dustin Grau Photography.

The Rogers Bridge project over the Chattahoochee River in Duluth, Georgia earned the 2022 ASCE Georgia Section Civil Engineering Project of Merit Award for the demolition of the 100-year truss.

Astra Group LLC collaborated with Heath & Lineback Engineers Inc. to remove and demolish Historic Rogers Bridge, built in the early 1900’s over the Chattahoochee River. A 700-ton crane was used to execute the engineered critical lift. The removal made way for a replica pedestrian-friendly bridge to be constructed between Gwinnett and Fulton counties. The ASCE Georgia Section Project of Merit Awards are given to impactful projects showcasing contribution to communities, resourcefulness in planning and solving design challenges and innovations in construction and in the use of materials and methods.

The Georgia Section of ASCE is the Georgia arm of the national organization, The American Society of Civil Engineers. We are a professional organization who strives to provide essential value to our members and partners that includes supporting and promoting Georgia Civil Engineers and providing training and networking opportunities. We also strive to advance public knowledge of civil engineering and serve the public good.

The City of Duluth, in partnership with the City of Johns Creek, Gwinnett County and Fulton County installed a large section of the new pedestrian bridge at Rogers Bridge Park on June 10, 2022.

The newly placed truss is the same 228’ in length as the original, with a similar design. However, the new model is significantly heavier weighing in at 287,000 lbs. The original truss was a mere 170,000 lbs in comparison. The truss was prefabricated and then welded and assembled on-site. Assembly took two weeks, and 47 tractor trailer loads of truss pieces. Once it was ready to be installed, an 825-ton Demag Crawler with 1.4 million lbs. of counterweights was required to safely move the massive structure into its final home over the Chattahoochee River.

Timelapse of Truss Install: https://youtu.be/d49SMhmytqk

The City of Duluth, in partnership with the City of Johns Creek, Gwinnett County and Fulton County installed a large section of the new pedestrian bridge at Rogers Bridge Park on June 10, 2022.

The newly placed truss is the same 228’ in length as the original, with a similar design. However, the new model is significantly heavier weighing in at 287,000 lbs. The original truss was a mere 170,000 lbs in comparison. The truss was prefabricated and then welded and assembled on-site. Assembly took two weeks and 47 loads tractor trailer loads of truss pieces. Once it was ready to be installed, an 825-ton Demag Crawler with 1.4 million lbs. of counterweights was required to safely move the massive structure into its final home over the Chattahoochee River.

This is a project 15 years in the making! In 2006, Gwinnett County commissioned a study of Rogers Bridge to determine its structural integrity. The goal was to repurpose the bridge for pedestrians and in doing so, reconnect the communities on each side of the Chattahoochee River. In 2014, the City of Duluth took over the project and confirmed the study results. Duluth then applied for a grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission in order to develop construction plans for the bridge. The grant provided $560,000 to the City and required a local match in the amount of $140,000. As the project is of regional significance, Duluth teamed up with the City of Johns Creek and Fulton and Gwinnett Counties to come up with the $140,000 match. Evenly split, each local partner contributed $35,000 toward what is referred to as the “preconstruction” effort, which culminated in the development of construction plans.

At the time the plans were in their initial stages of development, it was not yet known if the bridge would be rehabilitated or replaced. Along the preconstruction journey, it was determined that the existing bridge was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places due to its unique construction method. The existing bridge was a 228’ long pin-connected Pennsylvania Petit truss. As such, the design team carefully documented the bridge’s history as well as its current condition. Ultimately, the Department of Natural Resources agreed the bridge could not be salvaged as is and approved its replacement. Concurrently, the preconstruction team reached out to citizens and stakeholders through various meetings and public open houses held in multiple locations (in multiple languages) to gain feedback as to what the ultimate users of the facility would want. Participants voted on their favored selection of bridge type and it was ultimately determined that a replica truss would best suit the needs of the end users. Both Councils and both Commissions concurred and the design team moved forward with developing construction plans for the replica truss.

The preconstruction process took about 4 years to complete and followed strict state and federal guidelines. Once again, the City reached out to the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Georgia Department of Transportation to assist with funding of the construction. And again, the four local partners came together, this time to participate with $350,000 each for a local match of $1,400,000. GDOT covered approximately $700,000. And ARC covered the remaining approximate $5,100,000. We anticipate the bridge to be completed later this year, officially connecting the City of Duluth and Johns Creek parks!

The City of Duluth would like to thank all our partners, without whom this project would not have been possible: FHWA, GDOT, ARC, Fulton & Gwinnett Counties, Johns Creek, the Thomas & Hutton/CHA design team, the KCI inspection team and the Astra construction team.

Are your spidey senses tingling?! We had a Super time at Friday’s Food Truck Friday & Flicks on the Bricks event and we hope you did too!

Photography provided by Dustin Grau Photography & DV Photo Video.

Ever heard of growing pains? Of course, growing pains aren’t always fun, but we hear they lead to some pretty great things!

In order to bring our stormwater infrastructure up to current industry standards, Main Street will be closed to vehicular traffic for three weeks, pending weather conditions starting on June 16.

The roadway will be blocked at the intersection of West Lawrenceville Street and Main Street down to the Main Street entrance to City Hall. The construction zone (Red Zone) will temporarily include the drive aisle that leads from Main Street to the rear parking lot behind Pure/Red Clay/Mathias building, it will cross Main Street and connect to the paver lot construction zone.

For safety reasons, the entire Red Zone will be OFF LIMITS TO PEDESTRIANS.

We’re making the most of those growing pains we mentioned by providing in-street seating, photo ops and occasional live music during the road closure. You know, all those fun community vibes that Duluth is known for!

Be assured that during the closure, full pedestrian access to Town Green and all Downtown businesses will still be available. Please refer to the Yellow Pedestrian Zones on the map that highlight existing paths to Town Green.

Thank you for sticking with us; we promise the new community space being developed in the former paver lot will be worth it.

The dogs of Duluth were out in full force at Fridays-N-Duluth presents Dog Days of Summer on Friday, May 20. Duluth is the place to be on Friday night as food trucks take over Downtown Duluth! Experience exotic flavors in a mobile vending setting with amazing local cuisine while listening to live entertainment on the Festival Center Stage and in Parsons Alley.

Fridays-N-Duluth includes both Food Truck Friday and Block Party on Main Events. Food Truck Fridays will take place on all odd number Fridays and will feature live music, food trucks and vendors. Themed Block Party on Main events will take place on all even-numbered Fridays and will feature food trucked and themed entertainment. Block Party themes will include a Friday Fiesta, Dog Days of Summer, International Night, Bringing Back the 90’s, Caribbean Night, Mardi Gras in July, Lantern Parade and Whimsical Wonderland.

The City of Duluth is happy to announce that the annual Citywide Community Clean-Up Day will be hosted at the Duluth Public Works facility located at 2450 Main Street, Duluth, GA 30097, on Saturday, June 11, from 8:00am-4:00pm. The clean-up day is offered as a free service to our wonderful residents as part of the Duluth Neighborhood Outreach Work Program (N.O.W.).

As an amnesty dump day, we will be accepting the following household items from City residents on this day only:

• Up to 4 car tires
• Leftover paint from your home improvement project
• Debris from your home renovation project (tile, lumber, carpet, sinks, toilets, etc.)
• Vehicle parts and fluids (motor oil, batteries, antifreeze)
• Garden chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer, and insecticides)
• Household chemicals (toilet bowl cleaner, shower/tile cleaner, carpet cleaner, rust remover)
• Items stored in your garage or basement (lawnmowers, appliances, grills, furniture, mattress, electronics, cardboard, etc.)
• Yard debris (tree limbs, grass clippings, leaves, etc.)

This year, the City will expand the event to include e-waste recycling and paper shredding.

This free event is only for residents who live within Duluth City Limits:

• All residents must bring a current utility bill and driver’s license to enter the event.
• This event is not open to contractors, builders or other construction trades.
• No commercial materials will be accepted.
• No vehicles larger than a standard-size pick-up truck will be admitted into the event.

For more information and specific restrictions on the 5th Annual Community Clean-Up, please visit www.duluthga.net/DuluthNOW.

BUT WAIT, why wait until June 11?

Did you know…Many household items can be disposed of at your curbside or dropped off at the Public Works facility year-round.

Republic Services (your garbage company) will take mattresses, furniture, appliances and other household items at the curb. You must call Republic Services at 678.963.2800 within 24 hours of your scheduled pick-up day to request this free service. You must also attach a Duluth trash bag to the item.

Duluth residents benefit from having year-round dumpsters located at the Public Works Facility. Throughout the year, residents can dump appliances, sofas, mattresses/foundations, furniture, cardboard, lawnmowers, grills, old clothing, electronics (TV’s, VCR’s, stereo/computer equipment, etc.), vehicle parts and fluids (motor oil, batteries, antifreeze), old children’s toys, tree limbs, grass clippings, leaves, etc. We are even accepting glass as it is no longer taken at the curb with recycling items. We cannot list every item that is accepted here; if you have a question about an item, please call us at 770.476.2454.

What a race! We never could have predicted a win by Red Strike but we hope you had as much fun watching as we did.

Photography provided by DV Photo Video.