Atlanta BeltLine: Eastside Trail Pictures

As we reported Monday, construction along the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail has caused a road closure today as a stretch of Ralph McGill Boulevard between Freedom Parkway and Ashley Avenue will be shut down for the next 30 days.

Further BeltLine bridge work will lead to a second closure in about three weeks. That’s when a stretch of Ponce de Leon Avenue between Ponce de Leon Place and the Midtown Place shopping center will be closed from March 23 through 26 and again from March 30 through April 1.

Yes, there will be some inconveniences along the way. But as these Eastside Trail pictures courtesy of Atlanta BeltLine and photographer Christopher T. Martin further demonstrate, the visionary project seeking to connect 45 city neighborhoods by a mix of transportation types (light-rail, streetcar, MARTA connections) remains in motion.

The Eastside Trail is currently in the bike path and landscaping construction phase. The two-mile trail winds from 10th Street and Monroe Drive to DeKalb Avenue at the southwest corner of Inman Park.

The pictures also serve as a reminder of how far the BeltLine concept has come in the last dozen years since Georgia Tech grad student Ryan Gravel turned in his architectural thesis, "Belt Line -- Atlanta: Design of Infrastructure as a Reflection of Public Policy."  Saporta Report Publisher Chris Schroder had an interesting piece last month on Gravel and the BeltLine that’s well worth the read.

When completed in 10 years or more, the BeltLine project, which was formally launched in 2006, will provide a network of public parks, multi-use trails, transit, public art and affordable housing along the 22-mile railroad corridor.

More than $37 million has been raised toward the $60 million capital campaign to pay for the project. The BeltLine could secure $602 million to construct transit lines if voters approve the TSPLOST referendum in July to add a 1-cent sales tax.