It’s all systems go for a project that aims to transform Avondale Estates’ main drag into a more attractive, efficient, accessible, and safer corridor for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.

Avondale Estates officials have scheduled a groundbreaking the evening of June 6 for a Complete Street overhaul of U.S. Highway 278 (North Avondale Road/East College Avenue) that’s been years in the making.

The event, planned at the Market Pavilion section of the city’s Town Green, will be led by Avondale Estates Mayor Jonathan Elmore, city staff, and project leaders. According to a city-issued notice, the “momentous” project will broadly strive to create a more walkable, bikeable, and cohesive downtown for the DeKalb County city.

Specifically, the work will remake a five-lane highway and skinny sidewalk that pass the Town Green and many of Avondale Estates’ most popular restaurants and shops. The project calls for reducing the roadway to three lanes for roughly 1.15 miles.

Extent of the Complete Street project stretching from Sams Crossing, at left, to Ashton Place in Avondale Estates. Google Maps

At the western end, the Complete Street will start at Sams Crossing near MARTA's Avondale station; from there, it will travel past the new park and through downtown, ending at Ashton Place.

Changes in between call for a 10-foot-wide path for pedestrians and bicyclists, upgraded traffic signals, a center median, landscape buffer, pedestrian and bike crossings, as well as road repaving and re-striping. (See a before/after slider depiction below).

City documents obtained by Urbanize Atlanta last year stipulate the winning construction bidder must complete the project within 18 months.

How a remade U.S. Highway 278 (North Avondale Road/East College Avenue) is expected to look and function through Avondale Estates' downtown area. Courtesy of Avondale Estates

In related news, park-adjacent, mixed-use venture The Dale is under construction following a groundbreaking in December between the forthcoming Complete Street project and Town Green.

The 24,000-square-foot joint venture between Healey Weatherholtz Properties and Fabric Developers calls for two adjacent buildings standing two stories each where North Avondale Road meets Lake Street.

The goal is to create a vibrant restaurant and retail row complementing the greenspace, next to a versatile open-air Market Pavilion space at the opposite corner. It’s also designed to feel like a commercial extension of downtown.

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