The Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services Department will host a ribbon cutting ceremony and open the next phase of the North Oconee River Greenway Trail System on Thursday, September 5 at 5:00 p.m.

The public is invited to attend and assemble at the East Campus Connector Bridge. Free parking is available at the nearby UGA Park & Ride lot (E23) located off College Station Road on North Oconee River Access Road.

This new connector to the Greenway Trail is 0.2 miles in length and directly connects the University of Georgia East Campus area, including a 235’ bridge spanning the Oconee River. This connector will provide access to popular East Campus locations including the Lamar Dodd School of Art, Hugh Hodgson School of Music, Performing Arts Center, and the Georgia Museum of Art. The Greenway Trail is available for use by pedestrians and any non-motorized modes of transportation, including bicycles. This project is a partnership between the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government, the University of Georgia, and and the Georgia Department of Transportation.

At the dedication, a brass ensemble from the University of Georgia’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music will perform an original piece of music for the occasion. The piece “Murmurs and Prestige” commemorates the opening of the new East Campus Connector Bridge, the latest addition to the North Oconee River Greenway Trail System. This composition celebrates the further unification of UGA and the surrounding Athens community and is influenced by Georgia state songs, the UGA Alma Mater, the Battle Hymn of the Republic, & the Athens artists R.E.M. From the murmurs of the Oconee River, to the prestige of the new bridge rising over it, the University of Georgia and Athens-Clarke County celebrate this historic moment with a triumphant fanfare. The piece was composed by Cameron Gwynn a senior Music Composition and Theory major at UGA.