Photos: Atlanta’s first rapid bus line and new bike lanes advance

A year after its groundbreaking ceremony, construction on MARTA’s first new transit line in more than 20 years is notably ramping up around downtown and Summerhill.

Atlanta’s first attempt at creating a bus rapid transit system began construction last fall. The five-mile BRT route, dubbed MARTA Rapid Summerhill, will connect downtown with neighborhoods such as Summerhill and Peoplestown before ending near the BeltLine’s Southside Trail, at a station called Carver.

Along the way, there will be connections to MARTA’s heavy rail system at Five Points, Georgia State and Garnett stations. The $91 million project marks MARTA’s first new transit line since the Sandy Springs MARTA station opened in 2000.

MARTA officials tell Urbanize Atlanta that the BRT project is “in full swing” and remains on schedule as sidewalks are widened, bike infrastructure is put in place, travel lanes are changed and other work takes place during Atlanta’s warm months.

Here’s a quick look at MARTA-provided BRT construction progress as it stands today, organized by area:

Downtown:

BRT construction in the Downtown Loop area began in May along Mitchell Street between Ted Turner Drive and Central Avenue, according to MARTA officials.

Work on potholes and utilities is underway, while sidewalk and lane closures are expected to begin in June while the station is installed.

Summerhill along Hank Aaron Drive:

Lane changes were made in the area to shift traffic to the outer lanes, allowing BRT work to continue in the inner lanes.​

Street widening, public works, deep milling and resurfacing continue along Hank Aaron Drive from the Interstate 20 east on-ramp south to Ormond Street, or two blocks south of Georgia State University’s Center Parc stadium.

Between this summer and September, the MARTA team will focus on BRT station construction, paving, ADA ramp and sidewalk construction, as well as signal and intelligent traffic system work in Summerhill and Downtown -city, according to the agency.

Somewhere else:

Shallow utility works are expected to take place between Ormond Street and Carver Station, the southernmost point of the BRT line, later this year.

MARTA anticipates construction of MARTA Rapid Summerhill to finish in spring 2025, with passenger service beginning later next year.

The region’s first BRT line will operate with new 60-foot electric buses, with the 14 stops featuring level boarding positioned approximately 1/3 mile apart. Planned stations on Memorial Drive, at Capitol Avenue and Trinity Avenue, were previously removed to cut costs, project officials said.

Each station will feature real-time arrival information and off-board fare collection, allowing guests to pay before boarding. About 85 percent of the corridor will have dedicated bus lanes, with priority given to transit signals, meaning buses should not get bogged down in traffic and travel times should be faster, officials said. MARTA officials.

Once the line is built, buses are expected to arrive with frequencies between 10 minutes (daytime rush hours) and 20 minutes (late hours and weekend mornings). MARTA estimated that 2,350 passengers will use the service daily. The project is funded by the $2.7 billion MORE MARTA half-penny sales tax for mass transit approved by voters in 2016 and a federal TIGER grant.

MARTA predicts that traveling the entire route from Five Points Station to Carver will take between 12 and 15 minutes.

MARTA’s original timeline called for the BRT project to break ground in August 2022 and begin service this year, but the project has been hampered by skyrocketing construction and labor costs (initially projected at 61, $5 million), plus problems stemming from MARTA’s inexperience in creating new transit lines this century.

Beyond the Summerhill BRT Line, MARTA is moving forward with BRT transportation along the Clifton Corridor near Emory University, on Campbellton Road in southwest Atlanta and Clayton County. Another four-station BRT route to Ga. Highway 400 with service to Roswell and Alpharetta is also under consideration.

Find a quick overview of the Summerhill BRT construction progress in the gallery above. More broadly, here’s the most recent snapshot of what’s happening between South Downtown and Peoplestown:

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• Flashback: reminiscent of the “before” version of the bustling Summerhill neighborhood (Urbanize Atlanta)