Two street-upgrade projects that have been in Midtown’s pipeline for years are expected to get underway in coming months, with a goal of better connecting the subdistrict and beefing up its bicycle lanes and pedestrian infrastructure.
Both the (delayed) 15th Street Extension and 5th Street Complete Street projects have awarded construction contracts and are scheduled to see work start in early 2024, according to Midtown Alliance.
The more extensive project, the 15th Street Extension, has undergone more than six years of planning and fundraising and a hiccup involving the bidding process that knocked its construction timeline back.
Plans call for extending 15th Street by two blocks west, toward Atlantic Station, to create a multimodal link from the Arts Center MARTA station to Williams Street, near the downtown Connector.
The proposed look of two new blocks of 15th Street, looking west toward Atlantic Station from West Peachtree Street. Courtesy of Midtown Alliance
Courtesy of Midtown Alliance
As is, 15th Street dead-ends at West Peachtree Street, next to the AMLI Arts Center apartment tower, walling off access to the transit hub for sections of Spring Street. The extended street will slip between apartment high-rises and consume part of what’s currently a gravel parking lot.
According to Midtown Alliance, the project was awarded to low bidder Reeves Young last month. The schedule calls for starting construction sometime early this year and completing the work in 18 months, per project officials.
The extended street will include three new lanes of public roadway between West Peachtree and Spring streets, including two left-turn lanes at both of those one-way streets. West of that, expect a single through-lane in each direction.
Other features will include five-foot-wide bicycle lanes at sidewalk level in each direction, another five-foot zone dedicated to trees and street furniture, and 10-foot sidewalks on both sides…
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