The city spent $7 million on a tunnel, and the floor tells you why

The pedestrian tunnel under Medlock Bridge Road is finished and open. It runs 124 feet long and 42 feet wide, near Johns Creek Parkway, connecting homes and businesses on the west side to The Boardwalk, which opened in May. The ribbon cutting is Tuesday, August 12 at 9 a.m., but you can walk through it today.

Forty-two feet is wide for a pedestrian crossing, and there is a reason. The floor is artificial turf, put there on purpose so tents go up easily. Public Works Director Brian O'Connor says the tunnel is meant to host events and festivals, not just move people through. Nobody carpets a culvert. That detail is the whole argument: this was not built as infrastructure, it was built as a room.

The case for spending that money is walkability, and Councilman Dilip Tunki put it in the most practical terms available. Park on the far side of Medlock Bridge Road, eat at the restaurants there, and walk over. The point is to make Town Center function as one destination rather than several parking lots that happen to be near each other. When an America 250 celebration drew more than 15,000 people to The Boardwalk this summer, the crossing was the constraint.

The project broke ground in 2024 at $6.5 million, reaching $7 million with right-of-way and engineering, funded by Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax dollars.

Source: Johns Creek preparing to open Town Center pedestrian tunnel