"Northwest Trail – Segment 3B removes a significant barrier at Northside Drive," Atlanta Beltline, Inc. President and CEO Clyde Higgs said at the groundbreaking on September 10, according to the Beltline's announcement. The same release names Collier Hills and Ardmore among the neighborhoods the segment will connect.
Both neighborhoods already sit on a finished trail. The paved loop through Tanyard Creek Park and around Bobby Jones Golf Course is built, and the northern Beltline is now being built toward it. Crews broke ground on its west side in September, and the east side got its construction go-ahead eleven days later. For the next few years, the walk most people here take every week stays where it is. What changes is everything at its edges, and the changes arrive in a set order.
The Loop at the Center
The PATH Foundation describes the Northwest Beltline Connector–Tanyard Park trail as a 3.2-mile loop under tree cover around Bobby Jones Golf Course, with a spur to Tanyard and Ardmore parks. The Beltline's own Northside Trail page describes that corridor running through Tanyard Creek Park to Peachtree Creek.
This loop is where both new segments end. Segment 3 finishes at the existing trail in Tanyard Creek Park. Segment 2 starts at the southeast corner of Bobby Jones Golf Course, next to the existing connector at South Colonial Homes Circle. Tie the two ends together and the trail at the bottom of Collier Hills becomes the link in the Beltline's 22-mile mainline loop that it doesn't have today. The Beltline says the loop is 78 percent complete and plans to finish the northern corridor by 2030.
The oldest layer of the walk is still at the Collier Road parking area. A large Battle of Peachtree Creek historical marker stands there, and the park's listed amenities include Civil War markers. Atlanta Magazine has described a group of six markers in Tanyard Creek Park about the battle.
West of the Loop, a Bridge and an Elevated Trail
Segment 3B is the one-mile piece that completes the 1.2-mile Segment 3, from Trabert Avenue to Tanyard Creek Park. The route crosses Northside Drive on a new pedestrian bridge, runs through the Atlanta Technology Center property, passes under I-75 on an elevated structure and follows the Tanyard Creek concrete channel into the park. Mayor Andre Dickens said in the same Beltline release that this is an area "where the trail cannot simply follow the former rail corridor." That explains why this piece needs a bridge and an elevated trail where other segments could use old rail bed.
The Beltline's October construction update reports utility locates, clearing and grubbing already started, plus work on the site walls. Completion is expected in late fall 2028. The first effect on a walk is at the trail's entrance by The Reserve, which is closed for the 3B work. The Beltline said a temporary access point would open by October 12 and asks visitors to follow posted signs.
The other end of Segment 3 is already built. Section 3A, between Trabert and Northside, opened in July 2025 next to The Grove, Monday Night Brewing's indoor-outdoor taproom. The Grove is at 670 Trabert Ave NW. The brewery describes it as a taproom and venue with beer, cocktails, coffee, pizza and an outdoor gathering space. For now you get from Tanyard Creek to The Grove on the street. Once 3B opens, the trail will make that trip.
North and East, the Clubhouse and Colonial Homes Circle
The second construction site touching the loop isn't a Beltline project. The Atlanta Opera is building the Molly Blank Center for Opera and the Arts at the corner of Woodward Way and Havenridge Drive, on six acres along the NW Beltline Connector Trail and Peachtree Creek. The building is anchored by the restored 1940s Bobby Jones clubhouse. The Opera's project page notes the clubhouse's place in history: Alfred "Tup" Holmes was denied play at the Bobby Jones public course because of segregation, and his challenge became the 1954 Supreme Court case Holmes v. City of Atlanta. The Opera plans two intimate venues for smaller productions, recitals, jazz, lectures and films. Mainstage opera stays at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.
For anyone on the loop, the Opera's FAQ gives the practical details:
- Hours: Construction runs 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, plus some Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Parking: The surface lot has been closed since February 14, 2026, and stays closed through fall 2027.
- The trail itself: The Opera says construction won't block the Beltline path, but small sections will close for a few days while drainage goes in underneath.
- Trucks: The site entrance is at Woodward Way and Havenridge, and the Opera is working with its contractor to strongly discourage trucks from using Woodward Way at Northside Drive.
- Finish: Substantial completion is expected by October 2027.
Farther along the course, the Murray Golf House is open as usual. Boone's, the restaurant inside it at 2205 Northside Dr NW, lists hours of 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.
The loop's eastern tie-in is the newest piece. Segment 2 is a 0.7-mile stretch from the southeast corner of the course east along Colonial Hills Circle. Hasbun Construction was selected for Section 2A, and the notice to proceed was signed September 21, 2026. Section 2A runs from Bobby Jones to the northeast end of the Georgia Power substation. Demolition on Bennett Street was set to start in early October to make room for GDOT's bridge work and staging areas. Urbanize Atlanta reported that the demolition covers six vacant buildings and that the businesses at Bennett Street's west end will stay open.
The Order Things Arrive
The trail pieces open in stages through late 2028. The Peachtree Road crossing comes last because it depends on a state bridge project, and Section 2B isn't scheduled to start construction until January 2029.
| Piece | Where it touches the loop | Status as of October 2026 | Expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Trail Segment 4, Section 4A | English/Culpepper to Boyd, south of Trabert | Closed for construction | Partial opening November 2026; full Segment 4 by summer 2027 |
| Molly Blank Center for Opera and the Arts | Woodward Way at Havenridge, on the connector trail | Vertical construction underway | Substantial completion October 2027 |
| Northwest Trail Segment 3B | Northside Drive bridge to Tanyard Creek Park | Site walls and clearing underway | Late fall 2028 |
| Northwest Trail Segment 2, Section 2A | Southeast corner of Bobby Jones, Colonial Hills Circle | Notice to proceed signed September 21 | Section 2C construction no later than early 2027 |
| Peachtree Road bridge and Section 2B | Trail passes under Peachtree | GDOT contractor selection expected late Q4 2026 | Bridge work projected for 2028; 2B start listed for January 2029 |
The last row is the least firm. GDOT's Peachtree Road bridge project page says procurement is active, expects to name the contractor in late Q4 2026, and warns that details may change after the award. It anticipates a 10.1-mile offsite detour and a 2.8-mile local-only route, and says it will try to keep the detour short and use brief closures where it can. The Beltline plans a temporary at-grade trail crossing of Peachtree during bridge construction. The permanent trail will run beneath the new bridge.
The Loop This Week
The core of the walk is unchanged, and a few events fall on Saturday, October 31. A Saturday route that takes in both construction edges and the open middle:
- Start at Bitsy Grant Tennis Center at 2125 Northside Drive NW. The free Parkrun 5K starts there at 9 a.m. every Saturday from October through April.
- Walk the course loop toward Colonial Homes Circle, where Section 2A will join the existing connector, and pass the clubhouse site at Woodward Way and Havenridge on the way.
- Take the spur down to Tanyard Creek Park and stop at the battle markers by the Collier Road lot. From there, the 3B work is just to the west, toward Northside Drive.
- Have breakfast on Collier Road. The Flying Biscuit Café at Howell Mill Village, 857 Collier Rd NW, Suite 16, serves dine-in from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.
That Saturday is also Halloween. Ardmore Park's 2026 neighborhood calendar has trick-or-treating at Ardmore Park on October 31. The Grove has Tailgate & Treat on its calendar for the same day. By late 2028, the Beltline's plan is that you can walk from the park to The Grove on the trail.
Construction on all sides of the loop will also change what a home near it offers over the next few years. If you'd like to know how the timing of these projects affects a property you own or are considering, Erin Yabroudy & Associates can walk through it with you. Request a private market consultation.