Atlanta Beltline Celebrates Southeast Trail Completion Atlanta Beltline Celebrates Southeast Trail Completion

After two years of construction, the wait is over.

On April 16, Atlanta Beltline, community leaders, neighbors, and students gathered to celebrate the ribbon-cutting of the Southside Trail’s Segments 4 and 5. The event even featured a drum line from Maynard Jackson High School—a fitting tribute to a project rooted in community connection.

Now known as the Southeast Trail, this newly opened 1.2-mile segment runs from Boulevard to Glenwood Avenue, bringing greater connectivity to key intown neighborhoods, including Glenwood Park, Grant Park, Ormewood Park, and Boulevard Heights. It completes the southeast portion of the Beltline which runs north for another 1.3 miles to the Krog Street Tunnel, where it links with the Eastside Trail. In total, 14.8 miles of the Beltline’s main corridor are now open and accessible.

 “Today’s ribbon-cutting delivers on a promise to communities that deserve the same access and investment as every other neighborhood along the loop” said Clyde Higgs, Atlanta Beltline, Inc. President and CEO.

Mayor Andre Dickens, Atlanta Board of Education Member Katie Howard, Atlanta City Councilmember Jason Winston, Fulton County Board of Commission Chairman Rob Pitts, and Grant Park Neighborhood Association President, Robert Selby addressed an unprecedented number of community members and elected officials in attendance for the celebration.

“Congratulations! Today is your day. The ribbons are cut. You’re off and away,” shared Selby in a poem he had written for the occasion. “Finally, your new Beltline is here!”

The Southeast Trail improves access to schools, businesses, and everyday destinations for residents across Southeast Atlanta.

For students at Maynard Jackson High School, Parkside Elementary School, and Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School (ANCS), this means having safer routes to get to and from school, while families gain improved access to groceries, small businesses, and neighborhood resources.

"There is a huge demand from families to walk and bike to school in our neighborhood, and this new section of the Beltline will give this large group a new, safe route to school,” shared Atlanta Bike Bus co-founder and Boulevard Heights resident, Andrew Francis, who coordinated the bike bus ride of over 100 Parkside and ANCS students and parents to the ceremony.

The project features a 14-foot-wide concrete multi-use path, soft shoulders, lighting, planting, wayfinding signage, storm drainage improvements, rehabilitated bridges at Ormewood Avenue and United Avenue, and a ramp access point on Delmar.

This milestone was made possible through strong partnerships, with the trail designed by Kimley-Horn and constructed by Reeves Young, alongside support from organizations including the Atlanta Regional Commission, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and lead philanthropic funding from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and The James M. Cox Foundation. Today’s celebration is a win for Southeast Atlanta neighborhoods, for students and families, and for everyone excited for a more connected city.

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