Segment of Atlanta Beltline Northeast Trail Opens to the Public

Partnership with Georgia Power enabled completion

Northeast Trail looking north from Montgomery Ferry Road. March 2021. Photo credit: John Becker.

Atlanta Beltline, Inc. (ABI) and Georgia Power have completed work on a portion of the Northeast Trail and it is now open to the public in an advanced interim state. The trail runs through the Piedmont Heights and Ansley Park neighborhoods and is accessible via a ramp connection from Montgomery Ferry Road.

At 0.7 miles in length, this paved, multi-use trail – known as Segment 2 – is part of the larger Northeast Trail that will ultimately connect from the northern end of the Eastside Trail by Piedmont Park up to the Lindbergh MARTA station. The next phase of work for Segment 2 will fully complete 1.2 miles of the multi-use trail between Westminster Drive and Mayson Street, including: the paved trail, a connection to Piedmont Avenue, lighting and security cameras, bridgework, planting, and stormwater management systems.

Permitting is underway for the second phase of work. The drawings are 90% complete and work is in progress to confirm budgets and bring the drawings to 100% complete.

Georgia Power managed the construction as part of a larger project to replace and relocate a transmission line. This trail segment will double as maintenance access for Georgia Power to occasionally maintain the line. The scope of work included the fourteen-foot-wide trail, the access ramp at Montgomery Ferry Drive, stormwater systems, retaining walls, and erosion control grassing. Trees Atlanta has planted bioswales and the remaining plantings will be completed in the next phase of work.

The Northeast Trail – Segment 1 is 0.9 miles and runs alongside Piedmont Park from Monroe Drive to Westminster Drive. It remains open in an interim condition with compacted railroad gravel and dirt. Alternative analysis and concept validation is underway as part of the federally-funded trail design. Once a locally preferred alternate is determined for this segment, the consulting team will ultimately deliver a locally funded set of construction documents.

The Northeast Trail – Segments 3, 4, 5, and 6 is approximately 2.4 miles and navigates from Mayson Street (just north of the Buford-Spring Connector) to the MARTA Lindbergh Station. Design work includes connections to PATH400, the Peachtree Creek Greenway, and the South Fork Trails and will build out access points from public streets. The project will involve crossings of existing MARTA heavy rail, Norfolk Southern and CSX freight rail, and Peachtree Creek. Several potential alignments for Segment 3 are under review by Norfolk Southern Railway.

A public meeting with updates on the planning and design for the full northeast corridor will take place on May 6, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom and Facebook Live. Details and registration are at www.beltline.org/meetings.