Alpha Loop to Big Creek Greenway: Alpharetta Connection Update

In True North 400's September 2026 construction photos, the corner of North Point Parkway and Encore Parkway already looks like a park. Plaza terraces are going in. A stone-veneer retaining wall runs along the slope. Handrails are being installed along a raised boardwalk, and permanent grass is going down where crews have finished. This is the Encore Greenway Park and Gateway, and its job is to give the Big Creek Greenway a proper entrance from the North Point side and connect it to the Alpha Loop.

The Alpha Loop trail that is supposed to arrive at that entrance has no public start date. The City Council approved its construction contract on Aug. 17, and the city's announcement did not say when work would begin. Alpharetta's two biggest trail systems are being joined from one end first. The Greenway side of the meeting point is in its final stretch of work, and the Alpha Loop side is a signed contract with no announced start date.

Two Projects Meeting at One Intersection

The gap between the systems is about a mile of land along Georgia 400. Two separate projects are closing it, and they started on different schedules.

The two contract figures in the coverage differ slightly. Appen Media reported $15.9 million, and CBS Atlanta reported $15.99 million.

The Greenway End Is Nearly Built

The park has been underway for a long time. Design started in spring 2022, True North 400 committed its funds in October 2024, construction began in February 2025, and the city and the community improvement district held a groundbreaking in March 2025.

True North 400's project page splits the work into three groups. Finished items include helical piers for the boardwalk, a sewer line transfer platform, storm drainage, and site grading. Current work includes grass, boardwalk handrails, plaza terraces, the MSE walls, and the stone-veneer retaining wall. Still to come are the beams and decking for the bridges, plus the electrical conduit for future lighting.

The completion date on that page is still December 2026. With bridge decking still on the to-do list as of the September update, December is best treated as the official target. No ribbon cutting has been announced.

CBS reported that True North 400 is putting $977,411 toward a new plaza at Fanfare Way and Encore Parkway. When this corner opens, Greenway users will have a finished gateway with a boardwalk and plaza. The one-mile trail meant to bring Alpha Loop users there will still be under construction or not yet started.

How the Alpha Link's Price Dropped From Nearly $25 Million

When work does start, the city will be building something it once expected to cost much more. Public Works Director Pete Sewczwicz told Appen Media that early estimates put the section at almost $25 million. The city lowered that by phasing the work and doing a land swap with the Georgia Department of Transportation. Councilman John Hipes remembered how that first number landed:

"When the initial price tag of $25 million was put on the 'Alpha Link,' I thought it would be forever known as the missing link."

Appen Media reported these funding pieces for the trail:

• $10 million from the transportation sales tax, which CBS identifies as TSPLOST II
• About $4 million from the 2022 parks bond
• Almost $1 million from True North 400

CBS also lists impact fees among the city's funding sources.

The trail will be 12 feet wide and lit, with a plaza at Encore Parkway, and it will run through land next to Georgia 400. CBS describes the route as running from the Alpha Loop near Morrison Lake, behind the Lakeview development, to the Greenway at the new Encore Gateway. The lighting means the trail can be used after dark, which matters for a stretch that sits right beside the highway.

What the Mile Connects on the Alpha Loop Side

The Alpha Loop has grown quickly. Its first mile opened in April 2020, connecting downtown Alpharetta and Avalon and linking three public parks. The section from Old Milton Parkway to Northwinds Parkway opened June 1, 2024, with a tunnel under Westside Parkway and an overlook bridge.

The mileage figures vary by source. The August news coverage of the contract vote said about 6 miles were finished. The Alpha Loop Foundation's September 2026 map shows 7.7 miles open and 4.7 more miles under construction, in design, or planned. The Greenway already has more than 12 miles in Alpharetta, according to CBS. That means a one-mile link would join two systems with close to 20 miles of trail between them.

"This is a great day for Alpharetta," Hipes said at the August meeting, recalling that when he joined the council in 2018, no Alpha Loop segments had been finished. Councilmember Katie Reeves said, "We're almost to the Greenway, so that is kind of exciting."

The Alpha Link also connects to the Alpha Loop section that crosses Georgia 400 into the North Point area. North Point is the site of the sports and entertainment district the council approved 4–3 on Aug. 24. The plan includes a 20,000-seat arena intended to attract a National Hockey League team, along with a community rink, music hall, hotels, shops, and offices. Under the approved plan, the apartments can't be occupied unless an NHL franchise is awarded to the site. The trail connection does not depend on any of that.

What Trail Users Can Expect Through 2027

The schedule follows from the dates that have been published. If Alpha Link construction began this month, an 18½-month build would run into spring 2028, and no start date has been announced. So the Encore Greenway Park could be finished and open for a year or more before the connecting trail is done.

The first change will be at Encore Parkway. Greenway users coming from the North Point side are expected to get a new gateway with a boardwalk, bridges, terraces, and conduit already in place for lighting. Alpha Loop users on the Morrison Lake side will keep reaching the trail's end near Haynes Bridge Road until Reeves Young builds the mile along Georgia 400. The two trail networks will have a meeting point well before the mile between them is built.

Three things are worth watching over the coming months. The first is whether True North 400 updates its December 2026 completion date. The second is whether the city announces a start date for the Alpha Link. The third is the next version of the Alpha Loop Foundation's map, which will show whether the 4.7 miles of planned or in-progress trail have started to open. The city's Alpha Loop page is the official source for segment updates.

If you're weighing how close a home is to the Alpha Loop or the Big Creek Greenway, and how this new connection might change which parts of Alpharetta are within walking distance, Latoya Carter can go over the trail plans with you and how they fit your priorities. Let's Connect.