U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams joined several local and state officials Monday afternoon to celebrate the $25 million federal grant to accelerate the construction of the Beltline’s northeast trail.
Williams, Ossoff and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock secured the funds for the city of Atlanta and Beltline Inc. last month through the bipartisan infrastructure law’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity Grant program. The money will go towards building a 2.2-mile network of multi-use trails in northeast Atlanta between the Armour/Ottley and Lindbergh areas.
It’s the largest federal grant in the Beltline’s history.
The Beltline is tasked with completing a 22-mile, multi-use trail loop around the city by the end of 2030. Beltline Inc. President and CEO Clyde Higgs said 80% of the loop will be completed or under construction within the next two years.
“We are on a pathway to not only complete the Beltline by the end of 2030, but there is a trend that we may finish even before 2030,” Higgs said.
Michael Blackshire
Michael Blackshire
Once completed, the northeast trail will mark the first time the Beltline will connect to a MARTA transit station, at the Lindbergh Center. The officials present also lauded the Beltline project as infrastructure that will knit together the regional trail network, affordable housing, and job centers across a series of transportation barriers.
Williams said the Beltline’s connection to a MARTA station will fulfill the Beltline’s goal of connectivity, closing a critical gap in the loop project.
Williams also quipped that she’s looking forward to many more federal investments into the Beltline and other projects that unite communities instead of dividing them.
“It’s an ambitious project,” Williams said. “But y’all, in Atlanta we don’t mind ambitious projects. Here we dream big and we show the world how to make big dreams a reality.”
Michael Blackshire/AJC
Michael Blackshire/AJC
Christopher Coes, the federal transportation department’s assistant secretary for transportation policy, called the Beltline a model for equitable revitalization in transportation infrastructure.
And Ossoff called the Beltline a historic project that will connect families, neighborhoods, parkland and greenspace with small businesses and affordable housing.
“This is a big deal,” Ossoff said. He later added that, “every year by which we speed up the construction and completion of this project is another year when children and families and businesses and communities can benefit.”
Echoing Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’s vision for the city, Atlanta Transportation Department Commissioner Solomon Caviness called the Beltline “a group project” that is moving Atlanta forward. He said the completed loop is intended to increase pedestrian safety citywide.
City Councilman Alex Wan, whose district includes the Beltline northeast trail, said constituents consistently tell City Council that transportation is one of the city’s biggest concerns.
“The city over two decades ago made a bet,” said City Councilman Alex Wan, whose district includes the Beltline northeast trail. “We committed to decades worth of tax increment funding on a vision called the Beltline and ... with that, Clyde, you’ve got a big responsibility on your shoulders, but hopefully you’ll be going as fast as the MARTA trains behind us in getting this built.”
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