MARTA’s police precinct at Five Points will temporarily uproot to Underground Atlanta during construction. The city’s first bus rapid transit line-a link between Five Points and Summerhill-will also keep moving forward, but it’s now scheduled to begin operating in 2025, a year later than previously expected. Multiple feasibility studies have confirmed the station overhaul can be done without impacting operations while keeping riders safe, MARTA officials have said. Rail and bus services will continue to operate from Five Points during the years of construction ahead. (MARTA predicted last year that work would begin in early 2022 and finish well before the expected crowds arrive downtown for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.) MARTA officials said today deconstruction at Five Points will begin in 2024, and the goal is now to complete the project in 2028-or roughly three years later than previously expected. Last summer, MARTA selected architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to lead designs of the canopy deconstruction and removal, while Skanska Building USA was picked to serve as contractor, overseeing the project. Brian Kemp: “I’m proud our efforts have been recognized with this grant, and I look forward to seeing its impact-as well as that of our own investments-on transforming this MARTA station into a hub for travel, commerce, and culture.” DOT officials called the current Five Points hub “an aging and confusing station” that nonetheless provides direct service to the airport in less than 20 minutes and jobs for “an underserved and disadvantaged community.” MARTA’s application for funding specified that more than 50 percent of residents within a half-mile of Five Points are living in poverty, and 73 percent of them are minorities.Ītlanta Mayor Andre Dickens called the $25 million RAISE Grant a “big win” for the city that will “enhance connectivity beyond our city limits” in a prepared statement today.Īdded Georgia Gov. The project is expected to cost $200 million (that’s up from an estimated $150 million last year), primarily funded by the More MARTA sales tax, with additional state-level contributions from the Georgia Transit Trust Fund.Ĭollie Greenwood, MARTA interim general manager and CEO, said in today’s announcement the “resounding, bipartisan support” for the Five Points overhaul from city, state, and now federal levels “underscores its importance and the long-term economic impacts that go beyond the renovation of a rail station and reveals the true transformative nature of transit.” Upgrades planned as part of MARTA's Five Points Transformation Project. Officially called the Five Points Transformation Project, MARTA’s plan calls for a reimagined, modernized station that would boost safety, improve connectivity, and enhance the overall experience for downtown residents and some 10 million people who visit the district annually, officials said today.Īlongside an interior transformation, MARTA’s team will remove the massive canopy in the center of Five Points station, create a centralized hub for its 10 bus routes, and incorporate open public areas and greenspaces that help weave downtown streets back together. The only other project to receive funding in Georgia ($24.9 million) is a complete streets reimagining of North Avenue near downtown Athens. The grant program list includes $2.2 billion in investments nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the transit agency a $25 million grant through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE, program to help transform the exterior of Five Points station, an aged, off-putting facility that inadvertently serves as a barrier between sections of downtown. MARTA has scored a significant financial boost toward its goal of reimagining the largest and busiest transit station in its network and repairing the urban fabric around several of Atlanta’s oldest city blocks.
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