ATLANTA — City leaders recently broke ground on a three-mile addition to the Atlanta BeltLine network.
When complete, the new Westside trail will have a 14-foot wide concrete multi-use trail in this historic railroad corridor and will connect 10 southwest Atlanta neighborhoods. The $43 million investment uses both public and private funds.
“This is an historic moment for southwest Atlanta and the entire City,” Mayor Kasim Reed said in a news release. “The Westside Trail is the largest expansion of the BeltLine to date, with $43 million in public and private funds that serve as an investment in the future of southwest Atlanta. We are moving quickly toward our goal of completing the Atlanta BeltLine to connect every corner of our city. The Westside Trail will bring new vitality and investment to the neighborhoods in southwest Atlanta.”
Construction of the Westside Trail is supported, in part, by a $5 million lead gift from Jim Kennedy, honorary co-chair of Atlanta BeltLine Capital Campaign Committee, through the James M. Cox Foundation and PATH Foundation. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the City of Atlanta an $18 million TIGER V grant to support the Westside Trail.
The Georgia Department of Transportation enabled the purchase of the land through a $9.5 million local match.
