History
In 1958, an urban renewal and freeway project resulted in the demolition of houses and local businesses across 200 acres of Hayti, an affluent African-American neighborhood in Durham, North Carolina. [1] [2] The neighborhood was divided when North Carolina Highway 147 (also known as the Durham Freeway) was built, splitting through Hayti, causing economic hardship for residents. [1] [2] In 1973, a pedestrian bridge was constructed over the freeway in an effort to relieve tensions rising among residents and prevent race riots. [2] After becoming a center for drug trafficking and other illegal activities, the bridge was shut off from pedestrian traffic in 1995. [1]
In 2003, the Durham Parks and Recreation Department discovered unused freeway funds and announced a plan to rebuild the bridge. [2] The project cost $2.2 million with 80 percent paid for by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and twenty percent paid for by the city of Durham. [2] It opened to the public on September 16, 2010, and was named after Robert Kelly Bryant Jr., a historian of the Hayti community. [1] [2] Constructed along Lakeland Street, [2] the bridge connects Durham's south side neighborhoods, and Burton Park, to the Durham Green Flea Market on the north side. [1]
At night, the bridge is lit with blue LED lights. [3] [4] In 2013, following complaints of the bridge no longer being lit since its opening, Mayor Steve Schewel ordered that the lights be restored. [5]
The bridge is a part of the proposed R. Kelly Bryant Bridge Trail, a 3-mile trail, stretching from the Rocky Creek Trail south of North Carolina Central University to Drew/Granby Park in East Durham. [6]
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