BeltLine sets construction, closure date for final Southside Trail pieces

Five years after opening in a dusty, rocky, interim state, all segments of the Atlanta BeltLine’s Southside Trail will soon be either paved or fully under construction.  

That’s the word this week from Atlanta BeltLine Inc., which has set a trail closure and construction start date of May 22 for the final two sections of the Southside Trail—Segments 2 and 3—to see paving work begin.

That’s three weeks from today, ye gravel enthusiasts of ATL.

Long days of trail work are expected to begin at 7 a.m. and conclude at 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with weekends not off the table as make-up days for weather delays.

That makes sense, considering BeltLine and city leaders vowed last week to tighten the construction schedule for Segments 2 and 3 so that all of the Southside Trail—and nearly 18 miles of continuous BeltLine overall—is finished and ready to show off to global visitors during Atlanta’s month of World Cup matches in summer 2026.

At 1.9 miles collectively, Segments 2 and 3 are considerably long and include several unique features along the route between Boulevard in the east and the Pittsburgh Yards project at the western terminus. Those include a direct connection to The Beacon district, the long, stone-and-brick McDonough Boulevard train tunnel, two bridges over streets, and a Connector freeway underpass.

BeltLine officials have scheduled a virtual public meeting May 30 to provide more updates on trail construction and plans. The final sections of the Southside Trail are scheduled to be finished sometime in early 2026.

Meanwhile, the two Southside Trail segments that are currently a construction zone—4 and 5—are on pace to open in spring next year.

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In other BeltLine news this week, one of Atlanta’s leading developers has come forward in support of the push to install light rail along the BeltLine as a means of connectivity and mobility in a growing city.

New City Properties president Jim Irwin said during a recent Bisnow Atlanta panel discussion he supports adding rail to the BeltLine as part of a “larger, comprehensive intervention” for the future of Atlanta transportation. After completing BeltLine-adjacent Ponce City Market and the 725 Ponce building, Irwin has said his company’s evolving Fourth Ward Project was designed with BeltLine rail in mind, its light-rail passengers boarding and disembarking at the new district’s doorstep.

Irwin said lack of transit access is having real impacts now, as it’s been difficult to hire the 350 staffers needed for the final component of Fourth Ward Project’s initial phase, a mix of 196 luxury hotel rooms and 39 apartment-style residences meant for longer stays. New City has had to install new infrastructure in the building to allow workers to eat and shower there “because of how long it will take people to get to work,” Irwin told the Bisnow gathering.

Another panel member—Page associate principal Anne-Michael Sustman, an architect whose portfolio includes work on BeltLine-adjacent projects such as Inman Quarter, Lee + White, and The Masquerade’s transformation into The Mill—also voiced support for BeltLine rail, as a means of better weaving together so many disparate, “pocketed” developments.

The comments were a change in tone from recent headlines stemming from Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ statements that rail on the BeltLine loop might not be a foregone conclusion, pending an ongoing MARTA study. That analysis, as Dickens told Atlanta News First last month, will determine if BeltLine transit will be on rails, on tires, in “small pods,” or left in its current state as a pedestrian and bike trail, the mayor said.

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