Building the Atlanta BeltLine through northwest Atlanta comes with a challenge: how do you connect neighborhoods when major roads, highways and existing development stand in the way?
That’s the problem the City and Atlanta BeltLine are working to solve with Northwest Trail Segment 3B, which officially broke ground September 10.
What’s Being Built?
The approximately 1.2-mile segment will build on the completed Northwest Trail near Trabert Avenue and Monday Night Brewing and continue toward Tanyard Creek, where it will connect with the existing Northside Trail.
Getting there isn’t simple. The route has to navigate Northside Drive, I-75 and existing development.
One of the biggest pieces of the project is a new pedestrian bridge over Northside Drive, giving people walking, running or biking on the BeltLine a protected way to cross the busy roadway.
“Anybody who travels along Northside Drive knows how busy that road can be,” Mayor Andre Dickens said at the groundbreaking. “We’re building a protected crossing designed specifically for them.”
Why Does This Matter to Residents?
For residents of northwest Atlanta, the project is about more than another stretch of trail. Segment 3B will help create safer, more direct connections among neighborhoods including Berkeley Park, Loring Heights, Collier Hills, Ardmore and Brookwood—and make it easier to connect to the larger BeltLine network without getting in a car.
It also closes another gap in the larger 22-mile BeltLine loop. Today, more than 16 continuous miles of mainline trail are open for Atlantans to walk, run, bike, reach parks and businesses and travel between neighborhoods.
What Happens Next?
The groundbreaking marks the beginning of the next phase: turning years of planning, community engagement and partnership into construction.
The work requires coordination among the City, Atlanta BeltLine, neighborhood leaders, community partners and the Georgia Tech Foundation, whose Atlanta Technology Center property is part of the route.
And Segment 3B is one more piece of a much bigger goal: connecting more Atlantans to each other and to more of the city.
“We’re getting closer to finishing the full loop,” Mayor Dickens said. “And with every section we complete, we bring more of Atlanta together.”
