Mayor, commissioners celebrate Second Street Corridor milestone

April 30, 2020

Peyton Lewis,

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT)– Macon-Bibb reached a new milestone in their ‘Forward Together Strategic Plan’.

County officials took the first steps across the new Second Street Corridor connector bridge Wednesday.

Mayor Robert Reichert, says he’s thrilled about the progress on the bridge, and looks forward to the connectivity it will provide.

“We’re very excited about the progress. We are on Wednesday, or ‘Hump Day’, celebrating the additional construction of the bridge over the railroad. We’re replacing the old hump bridge, that everyone fondly remembers, with this new bridge,” said Reichert.

The ‘Forward Together Strategic Plan’ has been in the works since 2014, and the Second Street Corridor is the last part of the Infrastructure Improvement Plan. The county has been working on the Second Street Corridor to achieve a more desirable community atmosphere.

Commissioner Larry Schlesinger says that the bridge will make life, and business easier.

“This is just going to provide connectivity that will make it easier for people to take advantage of everything that not only Downtown Macon but the East and West side of Macon have to offer. By doing this, we are connecting several commercial areas,” said Schlesinger.

Mayor Reichert says the connection between Mercer University and Downtown Macon has been in the works for over 30 years.

“It’s going to be a catalyst for additional development in the downtown area, which is going to be great for a lot of different reasons. It’s going to be great economically, it’s going to create jobs…create industry and bring in commercial activity. It’s going to create residential areas too. So this is going to be a spark plug that really lights up and generates development in the downtown area,” said the Mayor.

The next steps in the plan will address the implementation of electric buses, identify funding for new projects, and create street-scapes.

The Second Street Corridor is not quite complete. People will not be allowed to walk, bike, or drive across the bridge for a few months. Sheridan Construction says the Connector should be open by the end of the summer.