Atlanta BeltLine CEO says $25M federal grant could mean completion before 2030 deadline

Caption

On hand for a giant $25 million federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) check presentation ceremony on a future segment of the Northeast Trail on July 24 are, from left, Christopher Coes, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, U.S. Department of Transportation; U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams; U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff; Atlanta City Councilmember Alex Wan; Clyde Higgs, president and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine Inc.; and Solomon Caviness, commissioner of the Atlanta Department of Transportation.

Credit: Dyana Bagby / Rough Draft Atlanta

A $25 million federal grant to fund a portion of the Atlanta BeltLine’s Northeast Trail could be a significant step in helping complete the massive urban revitalization project ahead of its 2030 deadline.

That’s the news Atlanta BeltLine Inc. President and CEO Clyde Higgs delivered during a July 24 press conference to celebrate the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant to the city of Atlanta and ABI. It is the BeltLine’s largest federal grant.

“Because if this historic gift, 80% of the Atlanta BeltLine will be completed within the next two years, or under construction,” Higgs said. “That is a drop the mic moment.”

ABI is on a pathway to not only to complete the 22-mile loop of the BeltLine around the city’s urban core by the end of 2030 “but there is a trend that we may finish even before 2030,” Higgs said. 

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The pink lines on the map show where the $25 million federal funding will be used to construct Segment 3 of the Atlanta BeltLine’s Northeast Trail.

Credit: Rough Draft Atlanta

The $25 million grant will go toward construction of more than 2 miles of the Northeast Trail and connector trails including Peachtree Creek and PATH 400 trails in the Armour/Ottley business district and residential areas between Midtown and Buckhead. The funding will also go toward the BeltLine’s first connection to MARTA at Lindbergh Center in southern Buckhead.

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams and Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Transportation Policy Christopher A. Coes were on hand for the press conference that included a presentation of a giant $25 million check. 

The federal officials said the BeltLine’s $25 million grant is due to President Biden’s $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to invest in rebuilding America’s roads, bridges, and rails. The bill also focuses on equity by funding projects that work to reconnect communities that were divided years ago by rail lines and highways.

“The Atlanta BeltLine is the poster child of our Reconnecting Communities Program before we had this program,” Coes said. 

Ossoff praised the BeltLine for being a “transformative and historic infrastructure project” that is connecting families, connecting neighborhoods, connecting parkland and green space with small businesses and affordable housing.

“This is a big deal,” he said.

Williams said the BeltLine has proved to be a catalyst for equity, growth and opportunity for all Atlantans and those who visit the city. 

It also will knit together the regional trail network, affordable housing and job centers across a complex series of transportation barriers and build a safer and more equitable transportation system by closing a key gap in the regional trail network, Williams said. 

“This is a shining example of what it looks like to think boldly about infrastructure,” she said.

Construction on the RAISE-funded section of the Northeast Trail mainline and connector trails is anticipated to begin in early 2025. Trail design is currently 60% complete. The next community meeting to provide updates on the Northeast Trail will take place on July 27.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Rough Draft Atlanta.