The Georgia Department of Transportation’s $9.2 million Georgia 400 Trail (PATH 400) project received the Quality of Life/Community Development, Small Category Award Tuesday at the 2018 SASHTO Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas. The Georgia DOT partnered with the PATH Foundation and Livable Buckhead to develop the 5.2-mile bikeable and walkable greenway through the heart of Atlanta’s north side. The partnership resulted in cost efficiencies and design innovations. 

“PATH 400 converted unused right of way property into something functional and beautiful, offering wonderful health and recreation benefits to the community,” said Meg Pirkle, Georgia DOT’s chief engineer. “We are proud to have helped make this vision a reality.”

The 11th Annual America’s Transportation Awards are sponsored by AASHTO, Socrata, AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The competition recognizes transportation projects in three categories: Quality of Life/Community Development, Best Use of Technology and Innovation, and Operations Excellence. Project categories are broken down by size: small (less than $25 million), medium (between $25 and $200 million) and large (more than $200 million). 

Georgia DOT built PATH 400 on the right-of-way of GA 400 and the public land adjacent to Metro Atlanta Regional Transit Authority. PATH 400 reclaims what was a highway-only corridor and creates a multimodal trail by turning underutilized gray infrastructure into a useable green space. It connects neighborhoods, offices and retail locations and provides users with an easy way to explore, exercise, commute and engage. 

Georgia DOT worked with the Atlanta Police Department to install security cameras at every major point of entry to the PATH 400 trail. These cameras tie into the City of Atlanta’s state-of-the-art Video Integration Center, providing enhanced safety of pedestrians and cyclists using PATH 400.