Following years of planning and roughly 20 months of construction, the former five-lane highway through the middle of Avondale Estates is officially, markedly different now.
Officials declared the North Avondale Complete Street Project a wrap Wednesday during Avondale Estates’ 2026 State of the City address, a ceremony that included a set by local comedian Emily Holden and mini parade led by Wasted Potential Brass Band.
The Complete Street overhaul of U.S. Highway 278 (North Avondale Road/East College Avenue), which broke ground in June 2024, aims to turn Avondale’s main drag into a more attractive, efficient, accessible, and safer corridor for cyclists, pedestrians, and even drivers. It remade the highway and formerly basic sidewalk that pass the Town Green, new commercial hub The Dale, and many of the city's most popular restaurants and shops, 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
How the Complete Street project passes Avondale Estates' Town Green and new The Dale commercial village. Urbanize Atlanta
Changes include a 10-foot-wide multimodal path for pedestrians and bicyclists, upgraded traffic signals, a center median, landscape buffer, and pedestrian and bike crossings, as well as road repaving and re-striping.
At the western end, the Complete Street starts at Sams Crossing near MARTA's Avondale station; from there, it travels past the city park and through downtown, ending at Ashton Place.
The Avondale Estates project joins ITP Complete Streets initiatives that have opened this year in Midtown and Decatur, with others along Boulevard and the Howell Mill Road corridor on the way.
Have a closer look in the gallery above—no bike helmet or sneakers required.
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