On October 2, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean officially opened the 28th Avenue Connector linking West and North Nashville. This was a symbolic event, as for the first time in 45 years, West and North Nashville are now connected, not divided by the wall of Interstate 40.

Some 20 years in the making and only 0.3 miles in length, the project was completed at a cost of $18 million. The railroad bridge is the signature piece of the Connector. The road features green space, pedestrian and bike paths, and public art. 

In order to protect the railings of the roadway, the contractor specified hot-dip galvanized posts and tubing with a polyester powder coat finish. Approximately 150 pieces of large T-posts with 2x4 connection tubing are being used on the bridge to protect pedestrians along the sidewalk. Providing a short top rail on the concrete side barriers is approximately 350 small T-posts with 2x2 connection tubing. To create a nice finished look, the designer elected to use stainless steel decorative screens and railings. Approximately 20,000 pounds of galvanized steel went into the railings.

The decision to use galvanized steel for the railings was made in order to maximize the life of the railings. Painting over the railing not only gave a pleasing aesthetic look to the project, it also provided a synergistic duplex system that will extend the life of the railings by at least 1.5 times.

In the end, not only will the citizens of Nashville benefit from the new road, they will also benefit from the decision to galvanize the steel in the railings prior to painting. By virtually eliminating maintenance costs on the railings, tax payers for generations will benefit from the duplex system used in the project.