Plans: Often-clogged Atlanta street could see (some) relief soon

Changes are bound for a short but crucial street that’s devolved into a traffic sore spot in a growing section of Atlanta west of Midtown.

Upper Westside Community Improvement District officials this week issued a Request for Qualifications that seeks engineering firms for a Huff Road widening project. The key connection through Blandtown has rapidly densified in recent years with projects such as Empire Communities’ Longreen and Novel West Midtown.

But don’t expect wholesale changes across all of Huff Road yet.

The scope of the widening project—from Earnest Street NW to just east of Foster Street—will span less than a quarter mile, near Huff Road’s eastern junction with Howell Mill Road.

According to the RFQ, the project calls for expanding Huff Road to three lanes and tying it into the ongoing Howell Mill Road Complete Street project.

Extent of the Huff Road section pinpointed for widening and other changes in new RFQ paperwork. Google Maps

Planned roadway expansion and other changes for Huff Road, just west of Howell Mill Road. Toole Design/Upper Westside CID

Other changes call for adding a sidewalk with pedestrian lighting on the north side of the street and upgrading a MARTA bus stop, alongside stormwater and landscaping work.

Designers should aim to minimize the amount of additional land required to widen the street, and any city-owned property that’s not behind fences now is consider useable space, the RFQ specifies.

“A qualified firm will approach the project design with a Vision Zero lens,” reads the RFQ, referring to a concept that calls for eliminating pedestrian and cyclist fatalities in cities.

“Huff Road is one of the few east-west roads in the Upper Westside District,” notes the paperwork. “It is a critical connection between Marietta Boulevard and Howell Mill [Road] and to the Beltline for residents, business, and visitors alike.” (A section of the Beltline’s Northwest Trail opened last year, just north of Huff Road.)

The deadline to submit for the road-widening project is May 8. No timeline for construction is specified.

The slim section of Huff Road set for widening today, looking east toward Midtown. Google Maps

In summer 2023, the Atlanta Regional Commission awarded the Upper Westside CID a $200,000 grant to study how Huff Road could be turned into a safer, more functional, and multimodal corridor.

According to Upper Westside CID officials, the City of Atlanta has approved a multimodal report for Huff Road, and changes to the street will be partially funded by development impact fees.

What’s identified in RFQ paperwork as typical Huff Road sections, starting from Marietta Boulevard (top left) and heading east. Toole Design/Upper Westside CID