Atlanta BeltLine Design and Construction Updates: December 2020

Below you will find recent updates and photos of each of our Atlanta BeltLine projects in construction or design along with links to get more general information about each project. These projects play a pivotal role in furthering the Atlanta Beltline vision to be the catalyst for making Atlanta a global beacon for equitable, inclusive, and sustainable city life. Funding needed to complete the 22-mile BeltLine loop is estimated at $350 million, which includes remaining engineering, real estate, and construction costs. 

All upcoming and past public meetings (still being held virtually) can be found at www.beltline.org/meetings. Our fourth Quarterly Briefing, with updates on all programmatic elements, was held on December 3, 2020 via Zoom and Facebook with a phone call-in option (download the presentation and watch the recording). Click here to catch up on November’s updates.

Northeast Trail

• Northeast Trail – Segment 2: This portion of the paved, multi-use trail will tentatively open again in an interim condition in late January or February 2021. The walls and ramp to Montgomery Ferry Road were 75% complete at the beginning of the month.  Trees Atlanta has planted trees in swales north of Montgomery Ferry Road. Design documents for Phase II of this section are at 90%.  Phase II will include paving north to Mayson Street and south to Westminster Drive, a connection to Piedmont Avenue, lighting and security cameras, planting, and stormwater management systems.
• A community meeting was held on Dec. 8. Download the presentation with construction photos and view the recording of the meeting.
• Northeast Trail – North: ABI is revisiting the previously preferred alternative for the trail alignment at the intersection with the active Norfolk Southern Railroad (NSR) line near the Armour Ottley district. The previously preferred alternative was presented to the community in May and at a concept meeting with GDOT in July. NSR notified ABI that the alignment passed through a pinch-point that would be too tight to accommodate trail and that it would need to identify an alternative route. ABI is in the process of executing a Preliminary Engineering agreement (PE) with NSR to continue discussions around this important connection between the Buford Spring Connector (near Mayson Street) and Lindbergh MARTA station.
• Details on each Northeast Trail segment can be found in our design and construction updates section: Segment 1, Segment 2, Segments 3-6 (North).

Southside Trail

• Southside Trail Segment 1: Construction is slated to be complete along this 0.8-mile section by summer 2021. GDOT permits are in hand for the pedestrian bridge over Metropolitan Parkway, an important milestone. Massive underground retention ponds have been installed, the removal of surplus soil is underway between Pittsburgh Yards and Manford Road, and the retaining walls alongside Pittsburgh Yards are ready for granite cladding. A community meeting was held on Dec. 10. Download the presentation with construction photos and view the recording.
• United Avenue Bridge: We are working through the execution of a contract to fabricate a new bridge across United Avenue. Once the contract is finalized, it will take three months to build the bridge and 2-3 days to install. ABI expects that the contract will be executed in January 2021.  The contractor ran into unforeseen delays when it took more than eight weeks to obtain a business license from the City of Atlanta due to COVID (a procedure that usually takes one day). Please see this blog post for detour options that do not require stairs.
• Details on each Southside Trail segment can be found in our design and construction updates section: Segment 1 (West Segment) and Segments 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Bill Kennedy Way

• A public meeting was held on December 1 with updates to the interim safety improvements along Bill Kennedy Way. You can download the Bill Kennedy Way presentation here and view the recording of the meeting.

Boulevard Crossing Park design

• After an internal review by Georgia Power, we have made several changes to the placement of uses under the existing power lines and Georgia Power easement to avoid any future issues with upgrades and maintenance to their powerline structures. Changes include moving the skatepark element to another location within the park. This reconfiguration will allow for less interference by Georgia Power to the park users and more visibility of the users from the streetscape along Englewood Avenue. Following additional internal design, we will present a final design to the community this spring.

Westside Trail

• Westside Trail Extension: ABI is hoping to have construction drawings ready for permit submittal by this time next year for the northern extension of the Westside Trail (from the current terminus of the Westside Trail at Washington Park to the Westside BeltLine Connector which is just north of Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway).
• You can download the presentation from the public meeting on Oct. 26 and view the recording of the meeting.
• General Westside Trail extension info with a full gallery of photos can be found at: www.beltline.org/places-to-go/westside-trail-extension.
• Holderness space: The paved access point and greenspace refurbishment between the Westside Trail and the Ashview Heights neighborhood is nearly complete.
• Details on each Westside Trail segment can be found in our design and construction updates section: Segment 3 and Segment 4.

Westside BeltLine Connector

• The PATH Foundation is nearly complete on this 1.6-mile multi-use trail between Joseph E. Boone Boulevard and Law Street. Plantings are underway now. Check out our quick Westside BeltLine Connector update video.
• General Westside BeltLine Connector info and a photo gallery can be found at: www.beltline.org/places-to-go/westside-connector