Howell Mill Road’s people-friendly overhaul enters new phase

Nearly a year after the Atlanta City Council green-lighted a project to remake one of Atlanta’s most rapidly developing corridors into a friendlier, more efficient place for non-motorists and drivers alike, the Howell Mill Road Complete Street project has entered a new phase of construction.

It’s not the only people-friendly road overhaul to gain momentum this month west of downtown and Midtown.

As visitors to Westside Provisions District and points north have likely noticed in recent weeks, the City of Atlanta’s Department of Transportation has begun installing pedestrian safety and signal improvements as part of the broader Howell Mill Road redo.

That includes wider sidewalks and ADA-friendly curb replacements, along with median and resurfacing work in the corridor closer to Interstate 75.

According to ATLDOT, the next steps will see utility relocations—power, gas, and telecommunications—along with three new traffic signal installations and continued curb, sidewalk, concrete gutter, and driveway apron repairs and replacements.

All work is being relegated to the hours between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays, according to ATLDOT officials.  

The full scope of the Complete Streets project calls for resurfacing Howell Mill from just north of Collier Road down to Marietta Street, a distance of about two and ½ miles.

Along the route the city plans to synchronize traffic signals with fiber technology upgrades and build raised bike lanes from Forrest Street (about a block north of Atlanta Water Works) to all points south along Howell Mill.

Other upgrades will focus on sidewalk repairs, more mid-block crossings, ADA upgrades, and additional safety improvements such as roadway-grade bike lanes, officials have said.

All told, seven left-turn lanes, three new signalized intersections, and three new mid-block crossing are scheduled to be implemented, along with a new right-turn lane installation where Howell Mill meets Huff Road.

The Atlanta City Council approved legislation in September to fund the full project, and construction partners P2K and Lefko Construction were picked in a joint venture as general contractors to build the street upgrades.  

The corridor’s upgrades aim to help accommodate a population influx in the area that’s created a wave of new businesses—and traffic snarls.

Since 2018, more than 1,100 apartments and townhomes have delivered in the Howell Mill blocks between 14th and 10th streets alone, with hundreds more in the pipeline. Despite the surge of private development, the three-lane roadway snaking through neighborhoods such as Home Park, Underwood Hills, and Marietta Street Artery had been mostly unchanged in recent years, apart from a few new crosswalks.

Howell Mill’s Complete Streets overhaul was once expected to begin in 2017—adding bike lanes, upgraded sidewalks and bus stops, fresh pavement, and new turn lanes—but was later axed from Renew Atlanta’s $250 million project list. Until September, the project still hadn’t been fully funded.

According to ATLDOT’s most recent estimates, the Howell Mill project is expected to cost roughly $21 million.

The target completion date is still listed as winter 2026, pending weather delays. Nearby residents and Howell Mill drivers can expect to experience “significant disruption” from here until then, with intermittent lane closures being part of the process, per ATLDOT officials.

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Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard

Meanwhile, ATLDOT reports this week that crews are mobilizing to begin construction on the Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard Complete Street, another project west of the city center that will begin at Atlanta University Center and travel about a mile and ½ north.

Along with road resurfacing, the Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard plans call for raised and roadway bike lane installations, new midblock crossings, ADA ramp upgrades, new signalized intersections and signal upgrades, and new dedicated left-turn lanes.

The project’s scope spans from two blocks south of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, between Clark Atlanta University and Booker T. Washington High School, up to Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.

“The corridor will become not just smoother but also safer for pedestrians and transit users,” ATLDOT officials wrote in an update this week.

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