Starting Monday, Sept. 8, the Atlanta Streetcar will stop carrying passengers in Downtown. MARTA is pausing service for two pieces of work happening at once: underground utility repairs by Georgia Power that MARTA describes as urgent, and infrastructure upgrades by the transit agency itself.
The pause is not a matter of days. According to a press release, the suspension is expected to last approximately three to four months, so riders should treat that window as an estimate rather than a fixed end date.
What Georgia Power is doing
According to MARTA, Georgia Power will excavate to repair underground electrical lines in the area between Courtland Street and Peachtree Center Avenue. MARTA said that work requires a lane closure on that stretch. Anyone who travels between those two streets during the suspension should expect the closed lane to be part of the picture.
How riders will get around
MARTA is not leaving the route without service. The agency says it will continue to provide transportation along the streetcar route using shuttle vans, and those vans are wrapped to look like the streetcar.
MARTA's own list of upgrades
Alongside Georgia Power's repairs, MARTA plans to take advantage of the closure to complete a set of its own projects. The list it shared covers six items:
- Catenary inspection and repair
- Track maintenance
- Tree trimming
- Station refurbishment
- Signage and vehicle updates
- Deep cleaning along the route
The items run from the catenary and the track to the stations, the signs and the vehicles, with cleaning along the route rounding out the list. MARTA frames these as work it will complete during the closure, in addition to Georgia Power's excavation.
What to keep in mind
For people who live, work or visit in Downtown, the practical points are short. The streetcar stops running Sept. 8. Wrapped shuttle vans take over along the route. A lane closure is in place between Courtland Street and Peachtree Center Avenue while Georgia Power excavates. And the whole arrangement is expected to last approximately three to four months, according to the press release. Rough Draft Atlanta's report points readers to a link for additional details on the suspension.
Reported by Rough Draft Atlanta.