ATLANTA — A ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for Sunday evening at Beaverbrook Park, where residents will soon walk across a pedestrian bridge unlike any other in the United States.
The nearly 7,000-pound bridge was built from a wind turbine blade repurposed from a Colorado wind farm. The project was led by Jud Ready, executive director of space research at Georgia Tech, who recognized a need for improved access within his neighborhood park.
Ready teamed up with Russell Gentry, a Georgia Tech architecture professor and member of the Re-Wind Network, which studies how decommissioned turbine blades can be reused. Together, they worked with students to design and engineer the structure.
“Working with those students to design the bridge and do all the necessary engineering calculations to ensure it would work well, it’s the first one here in America,” Gentry said.
Once opened, the bridge will span a creek that previously cut off access to about two acres of Beaverbrook Park. Ready says the new connection will allow more people to enjoy the green space.
“The accessibility of about two acres of this park that were not accessible before because there was a creek in the way, the bridge goes across the creek,” Ready explained.
Georgia Tech researchers say this project is just the beginning, with more designs and bridges expected in the future.