Atlanta Bus Rapid Transit Project, a First in Georgia, Moves Along

"MARTA’s planned Summerhill Bus Rapid Transit project – a potential game-changer in metro Atlanta transit – is poised to take a major step forward with the hiring of a consultant to oversee final engineering and design," reports David Pendered.

"This project is the first foray into bus rapid transit for both MARTA and other regional transit operators considering BRT programs," according to Pendered. With this historic moment in transit history from the region, comes the hope that this initial effort could be duplicated in the future. "MARTA’s first instruction to contractors reminds them of their role in making history. MARTA asks that all the architectural and engineering services be prepared so that they 'could be replicated in future BRT corridors.'"

A November 2019 article by Sean Richard Keenan provides more planning details about the Summerhill Bus Rapid Transit Project. The three-mile route would connect the Georgia State Stadium in Summerhill to the Arts Center train station in Midtown Atlanta.

At the time, MARTA was checking in with federal regulators to make sure revisions they'd made to the route of the new BRT line were acceptable. "The revised plan—the “Locally Preferred Alternative”—calls for a BRT route that runs from the Southside Trail north along Hank Aaron Drive, which turns into Capitol Avenue as it nears the Georgia State Capitol," according to Keenan.

The more recent article by Pendered digs into the challenges that project will have to overcome in planning—like utility relocation, stormwater infrastructure improvements, and traffic signal changes.