Atlanta Beltline Design and Construction Updates: October 2024

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: Construction is in the final stages. Railing work continues, as well as landscape installation and final completion items at 10Th and Monroe intersection. The trail will be open the second week of November, with a ribbon cutting scheduled for November 12th.

• 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. We expect to have all real estate work completed this calendar year (2024). We are on schedule to open construction bids in summer 2025, to align with the federal funding fiscal year. This project has more than $40M 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 20^th and an early 2026 completion timeline. Mass grading has begun above D.H. Stanton Park (Segment 3) to begin shaping the new access point, storm piping and structures have been staged along both segments for storm piping work to begin first at the access point to D.H. Stanton Park and move to storm west of Hill Street. Unexpected relocation of fiber as well as the relocation of storm lines to accommodate the fiber in some areas is impacting current progress.  This project achieved the highest level of federal funding possible at 80% of the total construction budget. 

• Southside Trail Segments 4+5: This trail segment runs from Boulevard to Glenwood and is 1.2 miles long.   Storm line installation is ongoing. Installation of temporary shoring at United Avenue is in progress and will take about a month to complete.  Pile driving for the bridge abutments at Ormewood Avenue is ongoing and the first of two bridge bents are complete. Construction is continuing for the walls that will support an access ramp at Delmar.   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.  A Study Group meeting to present the concept design to the community is scheduled for October 8^th, 2024.  The project will be completed in two sections: Section A will include work in the ATDOT right of way, which is expected to start construction in summer of 2025, followed by Section B work in the GDOT right of way in summer of 2026.

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. Steel has now been placed on all six bridges, or elevated trail sections and the bridge concrete has been poured.  Bridge 6 will be ready to pour in the next few weeks. Wall retaining walls have been constructed and faced except for Wall 6 which is receiving smooth granite cladding. Trail has been poured from Lena to Mayson Turner and lights and cameras have been installed as well as trail signs.  This area is ready for landscaping which will  start mid-November.  Grading along the Kudzu trail (abandoned rail line section of the trail) has begun as well.  Our first trail pour will be happening in this area the last week in October as we head towards North Avenue.  Handrail installation is continuing.  The project is on track to be completed in Spring 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.  The project is moving into solicitation for a design firm, with design expected to run through early 2026 and construction to be complete by 2027, with landscaping to follow.

  

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. We have executed a contract with Reeves Young to be our Construction Manager at Risk. The trail on the north side of Peachtree Creek is now under construction. We have completed the tree clearing and over the next month we will begin working on the foundations for the bridge. The bridge construction itself will begin in February. On the south side of the creek, we have our land agreements in place now and we will begin construction work on that side of the creek during the month of January in earnest however we will be doing enabling work the months of November and December to prepare for the January start. The bridge over Peachtree Creek is in fabrication in Greenville, South Carolina.

  

  

• 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 90% complete. Real estate purchases and easement work is in progress.  The drawings are expected to be 100% complete in December 2024.

• 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 90% complete and we are submitting for permit by the beginning of November, with 100% drawings complete in December 2024. A construction manager has been hired to provide early assistance with construction logistics, scheduling, and budgeting while the drawings are being completed. The section of the trail between Trabert and Northside has started construction. Wall construction on this section is progressing and we are still on target to complete early 2^nd quarter of 2025 for this small portion of Segment 3.

  

  

• 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 to the various permitting agencies for approval. 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: Section A and Section B.  We are currently finalizing a Construction Manager at Risk solicitation for Section 1 from English Street to Howell Mill.

• 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 on May 20^th, 2024. Clearing and grading from Elaine to Fairmont is ongoing.  Tree trimming in right of way is progressing along the public right of way. This project is expected to be complete by Fall 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 and 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 moving into solicitation for a design firm, with design expected to run through early 2026 and construction to be complete by 2027, with landscaping extending into 2028.

  

• 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. All asphalt paving, plaza pavers, curb, sidewalks and medians are complete. Open construction items not yet complete include handrail and guard rail at the ramp, striping, RRFB (rapid flashing beacon) and signage installation, and punch list work. Trees Atlanta is scheduled to complete plantings and tree installation by November 2024.

  

  

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 for Enota Park, and the award went to Reeves Young. ABI is working with the City of Atlanta to address revisions to finalizing construction permitting. Construction is funded and targeted to start in fall of 2024. The project construction schedule is expected to be 18 months, with an anticipated completion date in spring of 2026.

• Westside Park – Mountain Bike Trail and Pump Track: This Westside Park project consists of a 2 1/4-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 will also include 0.75 miles of hiking trails. ABP has recently confirmed an $8M donation, bringing the total funding for the project to $8.8M. The project is expected to cost $15M to complete all desired elements and phases of work. Design is in progress and is expected to be complete by spring 2025, with permitting for construction complete by summer 2025.

• 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, and landscaping have been completed. Bike lane resurfacing and extension, as well as pavement striping are also complete. Mast arm construction is complete, and signal heads have been installed. Traffic signals are being coordinated with ATLDOT and GDOT for switchover. Excavation for ramp construction began mid-September. Wall and elevated structure submittals have been approved by GDOT and ramp construction has begun. Estimated completion date of the project is January 2025.

  

• Ralph David Abernathy (RDA) Complete Streets Project: This is a streetscape improvement project in the heart of the business district. The project is approximately 800’ in length and includes parking and protected bicycle lanes. A pre-landscape punch list has been completed with ATLDOT in September 2024. Items remaining to be completed include punch list repairs as landscaping was completed in October. 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, 3small-group roundtables, multiple Pop-Up engagements on weekends, etc.  A Study Group meeting was held with the community in September 2024.

• 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 consulting work for conceptual transit design work.  MARTA is targeting to have operational transit in place by 2028.

• ABI has received Phase 1 - 30% drawings for review of the Eastside Streetcar Extension. ABI 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 it 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 September's Design and Construction updates here. Our third Quarterly Briefing of 2024 was held virtually on September 10, 2024. You can watch the meeting on the Atlanta Beltline's YouTube channel. The