City Of Atlanta Approves Construction Of Bus-Rapid Transit Line

An urban transportation project that was initially expected to be one of the major groundbreaking events of 2022 has now been confirmed for construction, according to officials from MARTA.

MARTA, in collaboration with the City of Atlanta leadership, has scheduled a ceremony in Summerhill for Thursday morning to mark the beginning of construction on the city’s inaugural bus-rapid transit line.

This new transit line, spanning five miles, will be MARTA’s first addition to its transit network since the opening of the Sandy Springs MARTA station in 2000. It will connect downtown to neighborhoods like Summerhill and Peoplestown, ultimately terminating near the BeltLine’s Southside Trail. Along the route, passengers will have convenient access to MARTA’s heavy rail system at Five Points, Georgia State, and Garnett Stations.

Initially, MARTA planned to break ground on the BRT project in August and commence operations next year. However, the project faced challenges due to escalating construction and labor costs, as well as MARTA’s lack of experience in developing new transit lines over the past two decades. Last year, an analysis revealed that the Summerhill BRT line, the project’s working title, would cost nearly 49 percent more than initially estimated, with the price tag rising from $61.5 million to over $91 million.

According to MARTA officials, the region’s inaugural BRT line will utilize new electric buses. Approximately 85 percent of the corridor will feature dedicated bus-only lanes with transit-signal priority, ensuring that buses are not hindered by traffic and travel times are expedited.

During the morning ceremony at the intersection of Hank Aaron Drive and Georgia Avenue, MARTA intends to unveil the official name of the BRT system.

Once the line is completed, buses are expected to operate with frequencies of 10 minutes during peak daytime hours and 20 minutes during late nights and weekend mornings. MARTA projects a daily ridership of 2,350 passengers once the service is launched.

Construction is set to commence immediately, and BRT service is anticipated to debut on the southside of the city sometime in 2025, funded by the $2.7-billion MORE MARTA half-penny sales tax for transit approved by voters in 2016, as well as a federal TIGER grant.

Final designs for the Summerhill BRT system were finalized one year ago. The plans include a five-mile loop connecting the BeltLine area, Peoplestown, Summerhill, Capitol Gateway, and South Downtown neighborhoods. The system is expected to have fourteen stops with level boarding, situated approximately 1/3 mile apart. However, previously thought of stations on Memorial Drive at Capitol Avenue and Trinity Avenue were completely axed to reduce costs.