Former Marietta Mayor Bill Dunaway first drove up to the summit of Kennesaw Mountain with a park ranger when he was about six years old. Nearly 80 years later, a Journal reporter accompanied Dunaway as he made one last drive up Mountain Road Friday.
Starting next week, the 1.5-mile road in Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park will close indefinitely to private vehicles. Visitors will still be able to access the summit via Mountain Road using a daily shuttle service, bicycle or foot. Work — including a newly striped pedestrian lane and improvements to the summit and shuttle plaza — will begin on Mountain Road Jan. 6.
The new changes are the park’s attempt to reduce traffic congestion, improve visitor safety and protect its historic and natural resources…