Atlanta Beltline Design and Construction Updates: February 2025

Below you will find recent updates and photos of each of our Atlanta Beltline projects in design or construction along with links to get more general information about each project. Additionally, you can explore current design and construction projects here. 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.

Northeast Trail

• Northeast Trail - Segment 1: The trail officially opened with a groundbreaking on November 12^th

  Railing work continues, as well as landscape installation and final completion items. Trees Atlanta has started planting.  Ongoing work at the 10^th and Monroe includes repair of damaged bollards, and final painting on the bike lane. Trees Atlanta began planting early February and will continue into May. Carriage Trail handrails will be pushed into April for final installation.

  

• Northeast Trail - Segment 3 and Connector Trails: This federally funded portion of trail includes the mainline trail of the Atlanta Beltline 22-mile loop, called Northeast Trail – Segment 3, as well as connector trails to the MARTA Lindberg station, PATH 400, and to the Armour-Ottley business district.  The project is in the right-of-way acquisition phase.  Coordination and negotiation with property owners is the primary effort underway.  Most of the real estate work was completed in 2024, with just a couple parcels to go in early 2025.  We are on schedule to open construction bids in summer 2025, to align with the fiscal year.  This project has more than $42M in federal funding allocated to the project.

  

Southside Trail

• Southside Trail Segments 2+3: This project, which extends 1.9 miles from west of I-75/85 to Boulevard, was released for construction with a construction mobilization date of May 20th and an early 2026 completion timeline. Mass grading was delayed for a period above D.H. Stanton Park (Segment 3) due to the discovery of a brownfield. Work has resumed on the storm detention pond in this area as plans for clean-up of the hazardous materials are solidified. Brownfield soil haul off will resume and continue over the next couple of weeks to facilitate the installation of storm piping adjacent to D.H. Stanton Park. Rehabilitation of the bridge over Pryor Road has begun and the concrete deck will be poured before the end of February. Concrete facing will begin on the h-pile retaining wall installed near Pittsburgh Yards. While the pouring of the concrete trails is still tracking to be poured by the end of February '26, the section of trail on Segment 3 from D.H. Stanton Park to Milton Avenue is now reported to have trail poured by the end of March '26.

  

  

• Southside Trail Segments 4+5: This trail segment runs from Boulevard to Glenwood and is 1.2 miles long. All columns for the ramp at United have been constructed and the contractor is currently working on the MSE retaining walls as well as grading for the stormwater pond. The ramp system at Delmar has been completed. Work at the Ormewood Avenue bridge will resume in February and continue for several weeks. The contractor is also working on grading the drainage swales and preparing for the first concrete pour of trail between Boulevard and United Ave, expected at the end of April. Underground utility challenges at United Ave have pushed out the expected completion date, with construction expected to continue through fall 2025.

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Southside Trail - Segments 6 (Bill Kennedy Way at I-20): This project includes a new pedestrian bridge over I-20, running parallel to the existing vehicular bridge at Bill Kennedy Way.  The trail section running through Glenwood Park will also be improved to meet Beltline trail standards.  The design of this project was kicked off with the community during an ABI Study Group meeting in March 2024.  The drawings for the project are 30% complete, with 60% plans forthcoming by Spring 2025.  The engineering team is completing a traffic analysis that contemplates changes to adjacent streets and intersections, with the intent to minimize trail and car traffic conflicts.  The project will be completed in two sections: Section A will include work in the ATLDOT right-of-way south of I-20 and Section B is the GDOT right of way from I-20 north to Memorial Drive. 

Westside Trail

• Westside Trail – Segment 4: This 1.3-mile segment begins at the current Westside Trail terminus near Lena Street and Washington Park and extends north to Law Street where the trail ties into the Westside Beltline Connector and the completed Westside Trail - Segment 3. The southern portion of the Westside Trail Segment 4 has now been opened to the public.  This section runs from Lena Street to Mayson Turner.  It accounts for approximately 40% of the total length of this segment.  Landscaping on this section of the trail is ongoing.  All six bridges on the Westside Segment 4 trail have now been poured and we have started on the handrails.   Wall retaining walls have been constructed and faced including the smooth granite on the retaining wall by Donald Lee Hollowell. The trail has been poured to North Avenue.  We are working on the plaza under Donald Lee Hollowell and will be pouring the ramp from Donald Lee Hollowell on the northside in the next weeks.  The project is on track to be completed in Q2 of 2025 is on track to be completed in Q2 of 2025.

• Westside Trail – Segment 6: This trail will be 0.6 miles in length and connects the Westside trail at Lawton Street SW to the Westside Trail at Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard. This section of trail is open but is a sidewalk connection, diverted off the rail corridor with ramp connections to an adjacent sidewalk. This project will construct a trail connection on the rail corridor.  Solicitation of a design firm is underway, with design expected to run through early 2026 and construction to be complete by 2027. Landscaping work will extend into 2028.

Northwest Trail

• Northwest Trail – Segment 1: This section of trail is 0.8 miles in length, beginning at the western edge of Peachtree Parks Apartments and running south along Peachtree Creek. The trail on the north and south sides of Peachtree Creek is now under construction. We have completed the tree clearing  and utility relocations on the apartment side of the creek and have started retaining walls as well as underground stormwater infrastructure.  We are also working on parking lot reconfigurations on the apartment side of the creek. The bridge construction has begun and the pile installation on the north side of the creek is complete with footings starting the first of February.  We are moving to the south side of the creek next for pile installation.  The bridge over Peachtree Creek is in fabrication in Greenville South Carolina.  Our first bridge delivery is mid-March 2025.

  

• Northwest Trail – Segment 2: This segment begins at the southwest corner of Bobby Jones Golf Course and travels east along Colonial Hills Circle for 0.7 miles. The design drawings are complete. Real estate purchases and easement work is in progress.  

• Northwest Trail – Segment 3: This section of trail begins at Trabert Avenue near Monday Night Brewing’s parking lot and ends after crossing under I-75 at Tanyard Creek, for a total length of 1.2 miles. Design work is substantially complete and permitting is in progress. A construction manager has been hired to provide early assistance with construction logistics, scheduling, and budgeting. The section of the trail between Trabert and Northside has started construction. Wall construction in this section is progressing, portions of the trail have been poured, and this section of Segment 3 is expected to be complete by early Q2 2025.

• Northwest Trail – Segment 4: This 0.9-mile-long trail begins at English and Culpepper and ends at the parking lot of Monday Night Brewery at Trabert. The 90% drawings are complete, and we are submitting the drawings to various agencies for permitting pre-approvals. Coordination with the Department of Watershed Management and other property owners has been very productive and the alignment for this segment has been confirmed.  We have split Segment 4 into two parts called Section A and Section B.  We have finalized the selection of a construction manager for Section A from English Street to Howell Mill.  A Construction Manager at Risk has been hired for Section 4A. We recently released all steel for bridge fabrication and also released the contractor for demolition work on Section 4A.

• Northwest Trail – Segment 5:  This trail section begins at the intersection of Marietta Blvd and Huff Rd, traveling to Ellsworth Industrial and English Street for a total of 0.7 miles. Construction started in May of 2024. Clearing and grading from Elaine to Fairmont is ongoing. Duct bank installation is nearing completion. Stormwater work is ongoing and haul out of soil will begin early February from Fairmont to Ellsworth. Abutment construction for a bridge over the small creek is in progress.   Elaine has been milled but progress is on hold as an unforeseen utility is relocated by the Department of Watershed Management. This project is expected to be complete by Fall of 2025.

Beltline Connector Trails + Access Points

• Oakland City MARTA Station + Murphy Connector Trail: This connector trail is expected to be 1.31 miles in length in total, beginning at the existing Southside Trail access point at Allene Avenue SW and splitting into two segments. The first segment of the trail is .45 miles in length and starts at Allene Avenue SW, crosses over Sylvan Road SW and terminates at Murphy Avenue. The second segment of the trail is .86 miles in length and starts at Allene Ave SW, runs adjacent to Avon Ave, crosses over Sylvan Road SW, crosses over Dill Ave and terminates at Murphy Oakland City MARTA station. The project is currently in solicitation for a design firm, with design expected to run through early 2026 and construction to be complete by the end of 2027. Landscaping work will extend into 2028. This project is funded through design in the most recent Beltline Strategic Implementation Plan; construction funding has not yet been identified.

  

Ralph David Abernathy Access Point: This project will provide a new access point to the Westside Trail, with a protected crossing across Ralph David Abernathy and a ramp and stair connection to the Beltline. A landscaped plaza is also part of the design. Ramp construction including walls and walking surfaces are complete. Railing installation has begun on the ramp system and is targeted to be complete by the end of mid-February.  The project will be complete and open to the public for use at that time.

All Trails Initiatives

•  Signage, Wayfinding & Crosswalks: Pond has been hired to update all signage across the entire Beltline suite of trails.  This will include regulatory signage, wayfinding, and crosswalk updates.  The new signage package will be consistent across the entire corridor and in alignment with ABI branding.   A construction manager at risk bid package is currently being reviewed by procurement. Design quantities and schedules are being created for the bid package by our design consultant. Our goal is to have this posted as an open solicitation in the next two weeks. We are working with GDOT and ATLDOT to get their preliminary approval prior to submitting for permit.

• Lighting and Camera Installations: Proceeding forward with design for cameras and lighting on the gravel Rail Trail that runs through Piedmont Park, and the interim gravel trail located at WST 6 that connects the Westside trail at Lawton Street SW to the Westside Trail at Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard. The design contracts for these will likely be issued in the coming months.

• Camera upgrades along the existing Westside Trail corridor are in progress, with 75% Plans have been completed and sent to the City of Atlanta for Review.

Parks

• Enota Park: Enota Park is an eight-acre park that will be built on the west side of Atlanta. A contract was executed for a CMR for Enota Park, and the award went to Reeves Young. ABI is working with the City of Atlanta to address design revisions so that construction permitting can be finalized for the North and South parcels.  We will have the north parcel permit completed by early March. The South parcel is waiting on boundary tree agreements to be signed in order to begin demolition.  Reeves Young and ABI had a construction kickoff meeting to begin preliminary submittal reviews and discuss logistics in preparation of construction starting construction. Reeves Young will be fencing off the entirety of the limits of disturbance for site security. The current Lucille access point will have detour signage pointing people to use the new RDA access point for the duration of construction. Construction is anticipated to be mobilized in March of 2025. The project construction schedule is expected to be 18 months, with an anticipated completion date in late 2026.

  

• Shirley C. Franklin Park (formerly Westside Park) – Mountain Bike Trail and Pump Track: This project consists of a 2.25-mile mountain bike trail for various skill levels as well as a pump track facility for teaching the sport of mountain biking.  The current program for the mountain bike trails includes 0.37 miles of beginner trails, 0.67 miles of intermediate / expert gravity trails, and 1.19 miles of intermediate bidirectional trails. The project design will also include 0.75 miles of hiking trails. ABP has recently confirmed an $8M donation, bringing the total funding raided for the project to $8.8M.  The project is expected to cost $15M to complete all desired elements and phases of work.  Design at 50% and is expected to be complete by June 2025, with permitting for construction complete by summer 2025. We are currently focused on a Construction Manager at Risk procurement solicitation for construction and working on Design Development and 60% cost estimates with Sherwood Engineering. The team completed a site walk with the WSP Advisory group in November 2024.

  

• Boulevard Crossing Park: Design work is complete for an expansion of the existing park from 5 acres to 25 acres including a direct access path to the Southside Trail.  Construction funding will need to be identified to progress the project.  

Streetscapes

• Ponce de Leon Ave: This project involves 0.68 miles of streetscape work along Ponce de Leon, as well as a new ramp providing access to the Eastside Trail from Ponce de Leon. Sidewalk construction, light pole installation, mast arm and traffic signal installation, bike lane resurfacing and extension, striping, and landscaping have been completed. Wall construction for the ramp is ongoing and granite veneering is almost complete. Construction of columns for the elevated ramp structure, along with handrail installation, will begin in early February and continue through April. Estimated completion date of the project is April 2025.

  

  

• Ralph David Abernathy (RDA) Complete Streets Project: This is a streetscape improvement project in the heart of the Westview business district. The project is approximately 800’ in length and includes parking and protected bicycle lanes. The project is complete except for repairs that need to be made to the new islands due to vehicular damage.  Georgia Power is expected to complete the light installation in the coming weeks. 

Transit

Beltline Transit Feasibility Study

• This planning project, primarily focused on determining a preferred transit alignment in the NW Beltline quadrant, where there is no abandoned railroad corridor, also intends to identify stop locations and generalized cross-sections in the SW and SE quadrants of the Beltline corridor. The overall study area is looking at 13-14 miles of future light-rail/streetcar transit corridor, tying into the NE Beltline quadrant planning work previously performed by MARTA in 2021. The effort is guided by principles of equity and the goal of developing a world-class network of high-capacity transit in a green guideway wherever possible.

• The consultant team has been coordinating outreach with the community through multiple forums, including Equity Stakeholder Committee meetings, small-group roundtables, multiple Pop-Up engagements on weekends, etc. Multiple public meetings have been hosted with the community in September, October, and November of 2024 and more engagement is forthcoming.

• This project is anticipated to be completed in June 2025.

Eastside Streetcar Extension – More MARTA

• This project includes the extension of the existing Atlanta Downtown Streetcar east to the Atlanta Beltline corridor, then extending north in the Beltline corridor to Ponce De Leon. 

• An intergovernmental agreement between MARTA and the City of Atlanta has been executed, with MARTA on point for contracting and funding the transit design and construction work. MARTA is targeting to have operational transit in place by 2028.

• The Beltline has received Phase 1 - 30% drawings for review of the Eastside Streetcar Extension and provided comments on the 2^nd revision to the Phase 1 deliverables.

  • ABI supports a non-embedded, top of rail, grass track solution.

  • ABI supports the premise of the project running completely off-wire.

  • ABI looks forward to MARTA beginning a community engagement plan ASAP.

  • ABI supports improvements to existing Atlanta Streetcar A-Line service.

• The MARTA board has authorized a contract with HDR for final engineering services. However, MARTA has not yet released HDR to begin Phase 2 deliverables, including 60% design development and community engagement.

You can view January's Design and Construction updates here. Our first Quarterly Briefing of 2025 was held virtually on February 13, 2025. To view the first Quarterly Briefing of 2025, click here.