ATLANTA — A faster timetable was announced Wednesday for completing the BeltLine's Southside Trail in time for the 2026 World Cup.
According to a release by Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., Segments 2 and 3 of the trail were originally set to be finished in June 2026 and will now be "fast-tracked for construction and will be open within the first three months of 2026."
That would make the trail fully open in time for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held from June 11 to July 19 that year. Atlanta is slated to host eight games of the tournament. Completion of the Southside Trail would provide direct access from neighborhoods south of Downtown Atlanta to the Westside Trail, which is about a mile and a half from Mercedes-Benz Stadium which is hosting World Cup games.
The release said the opening of Segments 2 and 3 of the Southside Trail in 2026, along with the opening of Segments 4 and 5 in 2025, would create 17.9 miles of continuous paved pathway.
“By accelerating the completion of the longest continuous stretch of the BeltLine trail yet, we are accelerating equal access to economic prosperity and some of the best natural beauty Atlanta has to offer,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, a member of the BeltLine Inc. board, said in a statement. “From our federal and non-profit partners to our engineers and contractors, this has truly been a group project. Thank you to everyone involved in creating safer, healthier and more connected communities in our city.”
BeltLine Inc. President and CEO Clyde Higgs said they wanted to "announce this construction plan as early as possible so that the neighborhoods and small businesses along the trail can maximize the opportunity that FIFA will bring."
Segments 2 and 3 of the Southside Trail are currently unpaved trail running from roughly just west of I-85 (at the Pittsburgh Yards development) to Boulevard. A groundbreaking was held just over a year ago for Segments 4 and 5 that will run from Boulevard up to Glenwood Ave., connecting the Southside Trail to the Eastside Trail.
The Westside Trail, which would provide the most direct access to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, is currently not finished from Lena Street running north to Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway. The last portion of that trailway, Segment 4, is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2025 which would offer contiguous access toward Mercedes-Benz Stadium from West Midtown.
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