Long-sought Atlanta Beltline connection at Ponce is here at last! Woo!

In the pipeline for more than a dozen years, a direct connection between the Atlanta Beltline and the humming commercial corridor that is Ponce de Leon Avenue has finally arrived. 

Hallelujah!

Following more than two years of construction, fences around the small but crucial pathway link and ramp came down late this week, and ATL urbanists took notice lickety-split.  

Situated where four eastside neighborhoods meet, the infrastructure project is designed to immediately improve connectivity to the Eastside Trail, jobs, and retail in the area.  

A pedestrian connection at Ponce de Leon Avenue near Midtown Place shopping center has been part of the Eastside Trail’s plan since before it debuted in 2012—years, that is, before Ponce City Market even started opening. 

Previous plans to begin work on the Ponce-Beltline connection in summer 2021 were delayed. Construction kicked off in earnest in summer 2023, and the targeted finishing date has been bumped back several times since.   

The JHC Construction project caps work on a broader, .7-mile Ponce streetscape overhaul that’s helped make the busy thoroughfare safer and more approachable for pedestrians, bicyclists, and micromobility users.  

The project creates a more seamless, quicker, and ADA-accessible means of exiting the Beltline for Ponce’s shopping and eating options, and vice versa, according to Beltline leaders. 

Included are a steel ramp, stairs, and railings at the northwestern corner of the Ponce-Beltline bridge, similar to Edgewood Avenue’s metal-ramp connection to the Eastside Trail where Old Fourth Ward meets Inman Park. The surface, however, is concrete instead of serrated metal, in order to spare dogs’ feet. 

For a technicolor preview, here’s a short video illustrating what navigating the new ramp by bike is like. 

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