Some pieces of town history are scattered along paths like the Bolin Creek Trail in Chapel Hill. Local infrastructure art along the greenways, including benches and bike racks, is made from recycled materials from the town.

Steve Wright is the public art coordinator for the Town of Chapel Hill. He said the art was originally created in 2010 by local artist Al Frega during the initial stages of greenway trail construction.

“I think a big appealing part of his proposal was to use recycled materials for this infrastructure,” Wright said.

Recycled materials like old concrete from the Chapel Hill airport and brake drums from Chapel Hill Transit buses.

“Those are the footers for the benches, and they’re filled with concrete and that’s what fixes the bench to the ground,” Wright said. “The bike racks – the rack part that comes up above the ground – is recycled stainless steel that he found, but they are also footed or connected to the ground with brake drums filled with concrete to give them weight.”

Public art bike racks created by Al Frega using recycled Chapel Hill Transit brake drums. (Photo via Chapel Hill Community Arts & Culture)

Following initial art installations along Bolin Creek Trail, Frega has made additional pieces in similar styles as more funding became available. These can be found at places like Merritt’s Pasture and the Morgan Creek Trail.

Wright said as the town ages, these pieces age alongside the natural environment.

“Al gave them a patina to start with and they over the years take on the patina of the area they’re in,” Wright said. “You know they might get naturally stained or have moss on them or something like that, and the steel brake drums rust so they acquire this nice brown reddish kind of patina.”

While there are currently no plans for more recycled material pieces, Wright said he believes the town will continue these projects in the future.

 

Lead photo via Chapel Hill Community Arts & Culture

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