Atlanta Beltline Design and Construction Updates: May 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 12th. The plaza work at 10th and Midtown as well as the bike lane are complete. Railing along Carriage Trail is complete. Trees are now installed. Groundcover and shrubs will be installed throughout the summer.

• 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. All real estate has been purchased, and the design is 100% complete. This is a huge milestone which ensures that the trail can be built! GDOT has certified all review packages such as environmental, right of way (real estate) and utility relocation work. The final step is the execution of federal grant agreements which is in progress. This project has more than $42M in federal funding allocated to the project. We are expecting the project to be bid for construction in Q1 of 2026, or earlier, and will likely be mobilized for construction in mid-2026. This is a long and complex project, one of the Beltline’s largest, and the expected construction duration is expected to be 42 months.

  

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 2024 and an early 2026 completion timeline. Clean-up of the brownfield continues on Segment 3 near Milton Avenue & D.H. Stanton Park. The installation of storm piping in this area is continuing. We expect the storm piping to complete in time to allow rough grading to proceed in preparation for construction of the mechanically stabilized earl wall (MSE) for access down to the park which is expected to start by mid-June. West of Pryor Road, clearing and grading has begun for an underground storm Pond. The retaining wall near Pittsburgh Yards has had rubble veneer completed. East of Pryor Road the underground retention pond and associated storm piping has been completed south of the trail. Work has begun on a cast in place concrete wall that will create the grade for access up to the trail from Pryor Road. On Segment 3, the grading for the Hill Street access point is complete and crews will be mobilizing to begin the cast in place gravity wall (retaining wall) that extends north under the Hill Street bridge and south to create the grade for the ramp from Hill Street up to the trail. The majority of the trail concrete is tracking to be poured by March of 2026, with the section of trail on from D.H. Stanton Park to Milton Avenue poured by the end of May 2026. This is due to the brownfield work required in this location. ABI is working to have this trail open to the public prior to June 2026, when FIFA will be held in Atlanta.

  

  

• 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 are complete as well as the mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) retaining walls and backfill. The ramp system at Delmar has been completed. The underground stormwater detention chambers have been installed on the north side of Ormewood, and the contractor will be complete with backfilling by early June. A concrete bent (pedestal) for the new Ormewood Ave pedestrian bridge has been constructed and the contractor will be working on the MSE walls for the ramp and stair structures over the next several weeks. The first trail pour between Boulevard and United is expected to begin the first week of June. 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 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. Consideration of how to phase this work around FIFA events in June of 2026 is needed. Expected construction duration for each phase of work is expected to be between 16-18 months.

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 mainline trail for WS4 has been poured and we are currently tracking for the June opening of this section of the trail. A ribbon cutting is expected to be held on June 23rd, and details will be announced soon.

• 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. Design has started and 30% design is expected end of September 2025.  Design is expected to run through Spring of 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 entire segment is now under construction. Retaining walls are 90% complete and the underground storm is also 90% complete.  We are beginning  to fine-grade the trail on the apartment side of the creek and will make our first trail pour at the beginning of June.  The bridge superstructure is completed, and we are starting the elevated  trail foundations on the north side of the creek.  The project is targeting completion in June of 2026.

  

  

  

• 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 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 is nearing completion and expected to be completed next month in June 2025, with a July opening to coincide with the Monday Night Brewery grand opening.

  

  

  

  

• 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 at Risk, F. H. Paschen, for Section A from English Street to Howell Mill.  We released all steel for bridge fabrication, and demolition work is completed 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.  Retaining walls and the bridge between Elaine and Fairmont are ongoing. Retaining wall work at Ellsworth into the corridor is starting to take shape.  Trail grading at Fairmont and the corridor is ongoing.  Discussions around the Elaine and Ellsworth intersection have started with ATLDOT for a road closure in July, for both the trail crossing work and intersection improvements. The retaining wall near English Ave is nearing completion.  Marietta Blvd wall construction and demolition work is over 80% complete with minimal traffic impacts.  This project is expected to be complete by October 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. Solicitation of a design firm is complete, and contract execution is underway.  Design is expected to run through early 2026 and construction to be complete in mid-2028. Landscaping work will extend into the winter months of 2028. This project is funded through design in the most recent Beltline Strategic Implementation Plan; construction funding has not yet been identified.

  

All Trails Initiatives

•  Signage, Wayfinding & Crosswalks: Design is complete. The design packages includes regulatory signage, wayfinding signage, and crosswalk designs.  The new signage package is consistent across the entire corridor and in alignment with new ABI branding.   A Construction Manager at Risk has been chosen and contract negotiations are underway. We have submitted for permit with ATLDOT and submitted the EDI to GDOT.  Construction will start on signage packages in mid-2025 with all work on completed trails targeted to wrap up prior to FIFA in June 2026.

• Lighting and Camera Installations: Design is underway for NET and WST-6 to add security improvements such as lighting, cameras, and a crushed granite aggregate surface. Design for the Camera upgrades along the existing Westside Trail corridor is complete. A contractor under Beltline’s current Construction Task Order solicitation will be chosen for installation, which is currently in procurement

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 Construction Manager at Risk for Enota Park, and the award went to Reeves Young. Notice to Proceed has been issued to the construction team.  Reeves Young has fenced 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. Mobilization of survey teams and erosion control began on April 7^th, 2025.  The erosion and sedimentation initial phase have been installed as has the tree save fencing. Clearing is in progress. The project construction schedule is expected to be approximately 23 months, with an anticipated completion date in Q2 2026.

  

• Shirley C. Franklin Park (formerly Westside Park) – Mountain Bike Trail and Pump Track: This Park 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.  This funding will cover the first phase of work with fundraising required to complete the entire project and all desired elements and phases of work.  Reeves Young has been hired as the Construction Manager at Risk and the team is currently working to price the 60% Design Development Package. Developing pricing, a cost estimate and schedule for the first phase of work will be the focus of the design team over the next few months.  Construction for the first phase or work may start in fall of this year.

  

• 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 and granite veneering is complete. Columns for the elevated ramp structure have been poured, and the elevated structure is in progress.  Estimated completion date of the project is Summer 2025.

  

  

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 2025.

You can view April's Design and Construction updates here. Our second Quarterly Briefing of 2025 will be held Thursday, June 12th. To register for the Quarterly Briefing, click here.