Construction crews are pouring trail sections and raising new columns just north of Huff Road in Blandtown, where the Atlanta BeltLine's Northwest Trail is taking on an unusual shape: an elevated pathway designed to lift walkers and cyclists over active freight rail lines. The work marks a visible step forward for one of the BeltLine's more structurally ambitious stretches, known as Segment 4B, which runs west of Howell Mill Road.
A Short But Complicated Stretch
Segment 4B stretches roughly a block east from English Street and is under construction west of Howell Mill Road, according to Urbanize Atlanta. The piece includes poured trail sections and new column structures that will eventually carry the path over active CSX railroad lines. From there, the segment extends toward a large city water reservoir, passing around Atlanta City Waterworks No. 1, and is expected to connect the existing Northwest Trail to the Howell Mill Road Complete Street project, which is itself under construction nearby. The nearby Empire Longreen project sits close to English Street, adding to the redevelopment taking shape around the corridor.
Atlanta BeltLine Inc. plans to begin installing steel beams over the active rail lines in November, the outlet's report notes, a milestone that will determine how quickly the elevated crossing comes together. BeltLine officials expect a short section of Segment 4B near English Street to open next month, per the same account, giving nearby residents an early glimpse of the finished path even as the rest of the segment remains under construction.
Splitting Segment 4 To Widen The Bidder Pool
Segment 4B is part of the larger Northwest Trail Segment 4, a 0.9-mile stretch that will link English Street to Howell Mill Road and end at the Segment 3 section beside Monday Night Brewery's The Grove project. BeltLine officials split Segment 4 into two sections, saying the division gives a smaller construction firm the chance to bid on the shorter piece — a strategy consistent with the agency's broader push, described in a separate Atlanta BeltLine announcement, to seek small and medium-sized local firms for Northwest Trail segments 2A, 2C and 4B. According to the BeltLine, trail segments were intentionally divided into smaller portions to create entry points for firms of different sizes and capabilities.
Segment 4B measures 0.4 miles on its own, per the BeltLine's project materials, and sits within a larger 4.3-mile Northwest Trail that will eventually connect the northern terminus of the Westside Trail to the Northeast Trail. That full corridor is planned outside an existing railroad corridor, though 4B includes a uniquely elevated and complex crossing over active CSX tracks. Pond & Company, an engineering, architecture and planning firm, along with the Path Foundation, are listed as partners on the Segment 4 project.
Timeline Points Toward A Spring 2027 Opening
The Beltline's timeline calls for breaking ground on Segment 4 in September and opening it in April 2027, according to Urbanize Atlanta's earlier reporting, with the BeltLine forecasting that all of Segment 4 will be complete by next summer. That report also noted Segment 4 will go out for bid in early 2027, and once finished, the trail will provide protected alternate-transportation access to the Interlock and Star Metals district. A short piece of Segment 4 near Northside Drive is already unofficially open, with a new brewery pitstop that debuted alongside it in August.
Segment 4B sits in Berkeley Park near the Atlanta Waterworks reservoirs, the outlet's report adds, while the adjacent Segment 3 opened last summer. Elsewhere on the Northwest Trail, the 0.7-mile Segment 5 in Blandtown is on pace to open this fall 2025, and the 0.8-mile Segment 1 in Buckhead is scheduled to deliver in June with a suspension bridge over Peachtree Creek. The Beltline's stated goal is to finish 18 miles of trail, most of it contiguous, before FIFA World Cup matches began in June 2026, with the full 22-mile loop projected to be in place by 2030. As of the BeltLine's own accounting, 12.6 miles of the total mainline loop, including 10.3 miles of connector trails, have already been completed.
