Atlanta BeltLine Inc. has put out an invitation to bid for a construction firm to build segments 2 and 3 of the Southside Trail. The project totals 1.9-miles and will be the last major section of the Southside Trail to go into construction. The segments will connect from the current end of the completed trail at Pittsburgh Yards on University Avenue to Boulevard, just south of Grant Park.
The Southside Trail is four miles in total length. When complete, segments 2 and 3 will provide passage under 16 lanes of Interstates 75/85 and under an active vehicle and freight rail intersection, while connecting to several Atlanta Public Schools, parks, and 12 adjacent neighborhoods, according to ABI plans.
The schools the trail will connect to include Slater Elementary School, Carver Early College High School, Carver High School, and Barack and Michelle Obama Elementary School. Neighborhoods to be connected include Pittsburgh, Capitol View Manor, High Point, Villages at Carver, Joyland, South Atlanta, Peoplestown, Chosewood Park, Summerhill, Boulevard Heights, Benteen, and Grant Park.
“We look forward to receiving bids from diverse, local companies to partner with to build these next segments of the BeltLine,” said Kimberley Wilson, vice president of Design and Construction for Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., in a news release.
“To us, equity is a business imperative that extends across all areas of our work as we bring people together to build more BeltLine for Atlanta,” Wilson said.
Segments 4 and 5 of the Southside Trail between Boulevard and Glenwood Avenue broke ground in March and are expected to be completed in spring of 2025. Segment 1, alongside Pittsburgh Yards, was completed in 2021.
Segments 2 and 3 of the Southside Trail are targeted to go into construction in the second quarter of 2024. Construction will include a 14-foot-wide concrete multi-use trail, landscaping, fiber duct bank, retaining walls, connections to adjoining streets, the reuse and rehabilitation of several bridges, stainless-steel handrails and guardrails, storm drainage and storm water management with a focus on green infrastructure, brownfield remediation, lighting, and security cameras, according to ABI.
Each trail project considers the plan and space needed for future transit.
The BeltLine continues to partner with City of Atlanta departments, Georgia Department of Transportation, Verizon, and Georgia Power. Trail design was completed by Kimley-Horn. eX2 is building out a fiber network in the duct banks under the multi-use trails.
The majority of funding for the Atlanta BeltLine comes from BeltLine TAD partners: City of Atlanta, Fulton County, and Atlanta Public Schools. Lead philanthropic support to complete the full BeltLine corridor comes from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Inc. and The James M. Cox Foundation. Additional funding comes from the Special Service District (SSD) and federal and state grants.
Atlanta BeltLine Inc. also received the maximum amount of federal funding possible for construction of Southside Trail through assistance from U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Ralph Warnock, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Ossoff announced last year a $5 million federal funding to help complete the Southside Trail of the Atlanta BeltLine. The $5 million is on top of a more than $16 million federal grant awarded in 2021 to go toward completing the critical link that will eventually connect the Eastside and Westside Trails.
The Atlanta Regional Commission also awarded a total of $10 million in federal funding in 2021 and 2022 for construction of the Southside Trail.
Once a construction contract is executed, the BeltLine will host a public meeting to introduce the selected contractor to the community and outline work timelines. Construction is expected to take approximately two years and to be complete in 2026.
As of November 2023, the Atlanta BeltLine consists of 10.4 miles of open, completed mainline trail, 4.3 miles of mainline trail in design, and 3.4 miles of mainline trail under construction with an additional 2.7 shovel ready miles.
There are also more than 10.3 completed miles of connector trails. For up-to-date information about each project in design or construction, visit www.beltline.org/projects.
