
Rogers Bridge Update

photographed July 11, 2022
Oct. 11, 2021: Historic bridge removed and dismantled,
Steel salvage saved and stacked,
June 10, 2022: New pedestrian bridge lifted in place,
Public art project funded and moving forward

photographed Oct. 11, 2001
photo credit: City of Duluth, GA

Removal of historic bridge. On October 11, 2021 after work to stabilize the structure, the historic Rogers Bridge was lifted (middle photo) in one piece and placed on the Johns Creek side of the river where it was later disassembled, the pieces organized and stacked.
Installation of new bridge. On June 10, 2022 a crane with 1,400,000 lbs. of counterweights lifted the new pedestrian bridge (top photo) into place over the Chattahoochee. More work is still needed to run water supply pipes under the bridge floor, to build the sloped approaches, and to complete adjacent park construction before it will be open to the public.
Honoring the importance of the bridge by repurposing its steel for public art. Once it was clear the historic bridge would be replaced with a new structure, the Johns Creek Historical Society has been an active advocate of saving the bridge steel to create public art.
$200,000 funding was made available for one large and a couple smaller artworks when the Fulton County Commissioners budgeted $150,000, thanks to Commissioner Liz Hausmann, and the Johns Creek City Council approved the JCCVB recommendation to allocate $50,000 of hotel/motel tax to the project.
Artist selection. The Fulton County department of Arts&Culture, with deep experience in public art, is managing the artist selection and commission process. After a call for artists was announced and applications considered, the top candidates made a July 11th site visit to see the steel available, potential artwork locations, and to hear a presentation of the history of the bridge and its surroundings. Those artists will make their proposals by August, with the final selection following.
What else has the Historical Society been doing?
Johns Creek Historical Society welcomes 2 new board members
"They were here" Macedonia Cemetery Four-Part Documentary screenings - a project with Mercer University, Student Leadership Johns Creek, and the Johns Creek Historical Society
A program "History of Black Education in North Fulton County" presented by the N. Fulton historical societies of Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Roswell, and Milton, with a focus of the Bailey-Johnson school and its planned adaptive reuse.
Charles Summerour's book which tracks his Summerour family through 10 generations, including stories of gold discoveries and their farms in the Warsaw community of Johns Creek
Macedonia Cemetery Update of activities and programs Sept-Dec 2021
Filming the "Taylor Sisters", descendants of the Rogers, Bells, and Taylor families, and view a video clip Johns Creek Traditions and History-Rogers Bridge
Neighborhood history - Country Club of the South
$2400 Funding from Commissioner Liz Hausmann