This spring, crews began to disassemble the suspension bridge over Peachtree Creek, part of Segment 1 of the Atlanta BeltLine’s (ABI) Northwest Trail. This 0.8-mile section crosses Peachtree Creek at the end of Peachtree Park Drive east of Peachtree Road, tucked into Peachtree Park Apartments. An unexpected issue with the bridge design was discovered during a concrete deck pour in August 2025, and an independent evaluation conducted by engineering firm TYLin in October 2025 revealed alarming structural deficiencies, including:
Now residents of the surrounding South Buckhead neighborhoods have been left wondering who is responsible for the engineering errors, and when Segment 1 of the Northwest Trail will be completed.
According to records obtained by The Buckhead Paper, Bridge Brothers worked as a subcontractor for the project’s primary construction manager at risk, Reeves Young. While Bridge Brothers is responsible for engineering and constructing the bridge, Reeves Young bears contractual accountability to ABI for the subcontractor’s flaws.
The records also explain the lag between TYLin’s October 2025 engineering evaluation and the start of spring disassembly. Bridge Brothers was required to draft the demolition blueprints for its own failed structure. Those plans then underwent a secondary peer review by TYLin before heavy cranes and concrete saw-cutters could safely touch the site.
When crews broke ground in fall 2024, Segment 1 was expected to open by summer 2026. Instead, this month brings a second round of demolition, and residents along Peachtree Creek are now looking at mid-2028 — nearly four years from groundbreaking to a working bridge, two of them spent building the same structure twice.
ABI’s June 2026 construction update states, “Due to a significant engineering issue, the bridge over Peachtree Creek is being removed and rebuilt by the contractor, which has affected the construction timeline. The contractor will start demolition activities again in August of this year. The design team drawings for a replacement suspension bridge are expected to be 60% complete in the next few months. Three tiers of the elevated trail will also need to be removed and reconstructed to allow for the new bridge to be installed. The current targeted completion date for this work is mid-2028.”
Additionally, ABI explicitly stated in its communications to local leaders and residents that it “does not anticipate an impact to ABI’s project budget” regarding the bridge removal.
Contractor Reeves Young and subcontractor Bridge Brothers have been contacted regarding this issue but have declined to comment.
On August 5th, the Atlanta BeltLine announced plans to demolish six vacant buildings, approximately 75,000 square feet, starting at Bennett Street. The demolition site is part of Segment 2A of the Northwest Trail, located near Piedmont Hospital and the Shepherd Center, and “fills a critical gap between Segments 1 and 2 where no existing rail corridor exists,” per an announcement by the ABI.
In November 2024, the ABI, in partnership with the Dickens Administration, purchased three parcels totaling nearly an acre at 2110 Peachtree Road, and in August of 2025 the ABI purchased an additional six parcels near the intersection of Peachtree Road NW and Bennett Street NW. The combined 3.2-acre site is the BeltLine’s first acquisition around Peachtree Road, and is part of the ABI’s larger plan for affordable housing and commercial space directly on the South Buckhead portion of the BeltLine. Demolition is slated to begin in mid-August. Over time, ABI plans to build a mixed-use, mixed-income development project along the Northwest Trail.
Businesses at the west end of Bennett Street will remain open during demolition.