Atlanta Beltline, Inc. and Community Leaders Break Ground on Southside Trail in Grant Park & Glenwood Park

Newest 1.2 mile section of the mainline trail will connect neighborhoods from Glenwood Avenue to Boulevard

Pictured from left to right: Rob Brawner, Executive Director, Atlanta Beltline Partnership; Katie Howard, Atlanta Public Schools Board Member, District 1; Natalie Hall, Fulton County Commissioner, District 4; Clyde Higgs, President and CEO, Atlanta Beltline, Inc.; Mayor Andre Dickens, City of Atlanta; Jason Winston, City of Atlanta Councilmember, District 1; Daniel Blackman, Regional Administrator for EPA’s Southeast Region (Region 4); Abiy Kaltiso, Transportation Chair South Atlanta for Neighborhood Development (SAND); Matt Westmoreland, City of Atlanta Councilmember, Post 2 At Large. Photo by Erin Sintos.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Atlanta Beltline, Inc. leaders and community members broke ground on the new 1.2-mile section of the Beltline’s Southside Trail.

Known as Segments 4 and 5, the new paved trail will connect the Glenwood Park and Grant Park neighborhoods, from Glenwood Avenue to Boulevard.

“The next expansion of the Southside Trail is a significant move towards a more connected and thriving Atlanta,” said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. “This 1.2-mile segment will provide safer and more accessible routes for residents, students and visitors alike, linking communities to job centers north and south of I-20.”

When complete, this will result in nearly 5 miles of multi-use trail stretching through intown neighborhoods to the east and south.

The Southside Trail expansion will create safer routes to schools for students and families at Parkside Elementary and Maynard Jackson High School. Maynard Jackson is only the second Atlanta public high school to be located directly on the Beltline, with the first being Midtown High School.

“Within two years, we expect that the Beltline will be 80 percent complete or under construction – and this section of the trail is part of that progress. In our vision, Atlanta is connected through accessible and sustainable trails to homes, jobs and opportunities,” said Clyde Higgs, president and CEO of Atlanta Beltline, Inc. “The Southside Trail expansion will bring connectivity to these neighborhoods and safer routes for kids and parents.”

Nearly 16 miles of Atlanta Beltline paved, multi-use trails have been built to date.

“The Beltline is the most important transportation project to happen in Atlanta in my lifetime,” said Abiy Kaltiso, Transportation Chair South Atlanta for Neighborhood Development (SAND). “It’s exciting not only because it will shift car trips to pedestrian and cycling trips, but more importantly because it reconnects neighborhoods that were historically disconnected as a result of racial and wealth inequality.”

Construction on Southside Trail – Segments 4 and 5 is expected to be complete in the spring of 2025. The final portion of the Southside Trail, Segments 2 and 3, will be bid for construction this fall.

Atlanta Beltline, Inc. and the Atlanta Beltline Partnership collaborated with multiple partners to start construction on this section of trail. Partners include: Atlanta Public Schools, Atlanta Regional Commission, City of Atlanta Department of City Planning, City of Atlanta Department of Parks & Recreation, City of Atlanta Department of Transportation, City of Atlanta Police Department, CSX Transportation, Fulton County, Georgia Department of Transportation, Invest Atlanta, Trees Atlanta, and investment from the Special Service District.

Kimley Horn led trail design, Reeves Young is contracted for brownfield remediation and construction, and United Consulting supported brownfield remediation.

Lead philanthropic support to complete the full Beltline corridor comes from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Inc. and The James M. Cox Foundation, and a brownfield cleanup grant comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).