MARTA is preparing to close pedestrian and bus access to Five Points station for years as it renovates metro Atlanta's main transit hub. Passengers will still be able to transfer from one train to another at Five Points during construction. But street access to the station will be closed beginning July 29, and buses will be rerouted to nearby stations.
MARTA will temporarily reopen street access to Five Points during the World Cup tournament in 2026. Then access will be closed again until construction is finished in 2028.
Closing street access to the hub of MARTA's rail service will be a major disruption for many passengers. The agency has plans to mitigate problems, Chief Capital Officer Carrie Rocha told a MARTA board committee Thursday. "These construction periods do have disruption, and we try to do what we can to manage those," Rocha told the board.
MARTA plans a major face-lift for Five Points. It will remove a concrete canopy over the station plaza, install a translucent roof, build new street-level bus bays and add green space. The $230 million project would be paid for mostly with funds from a half-penny sales tax for transit expansion that Atlanta voters approved in 2016. The agency also received a $25 million federal grant and $13.8 million in state funding for the project.
The agency plans a major publicity campaign as the work draws near. Rocha said MARTA will communicate with passengers, area residents and downtown businesses to mitigate problems. Among other things, the agency will install new wayfinding signs and spread the word to passengers at buses and stations.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution